SAN FRANCISCO – The soft opening to the 2024 women's tennis season began on Thursday when Academy of Art took on NCAA Division I San Francisco in an exhibition match.
The Urban Knights finished off the doubles portion in the first part of the day with a victory over USF's Qianer Qiu and Julia Visaya as sophomore Jessica Plazas and freshman Estelle Najean delivered a 6-3 score, but it was not enough to overcome the two other sets of the Dons' doubles teams.
Performing the strongest for the Urban Knights on the singles side was junior Maria Vittoria Casucci from the No. 2 position, who took home a singles victory for herself as she brought down Hana Gamracy in a comeback win 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8 that was tight until the very end.
Junior Erica Hellbe, freshman Amelija Supulniece, and Najean all battled hard in the singles, but were just overtaken by the DI talent of the Dons' No. 1, No. 4, and No. 6 participants.Â
Academy of Art will be back to the court in just over a week's time, as the Urban Knights will travel down the Bay to Santa Clara beginning at noon on Friday, Jan. 26 at the Degheri Tennis Center.
