2022 Penguin Invitational Results
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In action for the second time this fall campaign, Academy of Art women's tennis walked away from the two-day Penguin Invitational with a total of 23 victories across 26 matches played out at the Castellucci Family Tennis Center.
On Saturday, Oct. 15, the Urban Knights began with five singles wins over Dominican as freshman
Jessica Plazas defeated Audrey Rafols 6-1, 6-4, junior
Yun "Nicole" Shiau surrendered just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Haley Garcia, and sophomore
Julia Ortega's 7-5, 6-4 win versus Zoe Coggins were among the highlights. Additionally, sophomore
Erica Hellbe put away Antoinette Schreiber 6-2, 6-1 and sophomore
Paulina Alvarez also spared just one game against Sophia Thoring 6-0, 6-1.
In doubles action versus Holy Names thereafter, the tandem of Plazas and Hellbe topped Carlotta Romito and Linda Dimitroff 6-4 while Alvarez and junior
Viktoria Leth combined for a 6-3 win over Ella Lavender and Lucy Rekasch.
The tournament's opening day featured another round of singles play, this time matching up with Stanislaus State, and it was a clean sweep for Academy of Art. Plazas pushed past Amber Huk 6-1, 6-2 and sophomore
Maria Vittoria Casucci swapped her teammates' scores, defeating Zuzanna Dziewiecka 6-2, 6-1 while Shiau also made quick work of Alyssa Tay 6-3, 6-1. The straight-sets victories continued as Ortega went over Kate Bolton 6-2, 6-1, Hellbe held off Sylvana Talmantes 6-2, 6-4, and Alvarez picked up the 6-3, 6-3 win against Maya Young.
"The last couple of weeks, all of us have practiced really hard as a team," said Leth. "Every time I went to practice, I have felt that everyone really tried to do their best regardless of the circumstances. Some days some of us have not been feeling 100 percent, but I feel like we have helped each other and have brought up the ones who need it. I am really excited to continue this way and I think our hard work will show off in the season next semester, just the way it did during the tournament last weekend."
Day two of the tournament, Sunday, Oct. 16, began with back-to-back doubles matchups for ART U, opening with Dominican once again ahead of Stanislaus State. The Urban Knights would collect wins in all six pairings as Plazas and Hellbe prevailed 6-2 over Rafols and Gina Dudley, Shiau and Casucci bettered Coggins and Carolina Guerrero 6-1, and Leth teamed with Alvarez to oust Thoring and Garcia 6-2. Versus the Warriors, Plazas and Hellbe added a 6-4 win against Dziewiecka and Huk, Leth and Alvarez were 6-1 victors over Annabelle Mulick and Tay, and Shiau and Casucci triumphed in their faceoff with Bolton and Talamantes 6-2.
The Knights closed out the two-day event with four more singles wins against HNU as Plazas bettered Romito 6-4, 6-2 while both Casucci (6-4, 4-6, (6)) and Leth (6-4, 2-6, (7)) prevailed in tiebreakers versus Latesha Grant and Tully Richter respectively. Alvarez added her second 6-3, 6-3 win in as many days, doing so against Dimitroff on this occasion.
"To me, the team has been working very hard since the beginning of the fall season, and even though some of us have had to deal with injuries, we still find ways to overcome the challenges," said Shiau. "I love how we support each other on and off the court and I think that's the key to making us stronger and having good energy in the coming tournaments."
Academy of Art will conclude its fall season with the Saint Mary's Invitational in Moraga over three days, spanning Oct. 28-30.
