Wednesday, February 21
Seattle, WA
5:00 PM
University of Washington
7
vs
0
Seattle University
Seattle Showdown Ends In Husky Win
February 21, 2024 | Women's Tennis
SEATTLE – The No. 34 Washington Huskies women's tennis team (7-3) welcomed Seattle University to Nordstrom Tennis Center Wednesday night, winning the match 7-0 to improve to 7-3 on the season.
Freshman Catherine Gagnon made her Husky appearance in both doubles and singles, winning the first doubles match of the evening with partner Melissa Sakar, 6-4 on court 3.
The remaining two doubles courts went down to the wire, with the No. 34-ranked pair Astrid Olsen and Alexia Jacobs' match abandoned at 6-all thanks to a win on court 2. Erika Matsuda and Sarah-Maude Fortin earned their seventh doubles victory of the season to clinch the doubles point for the Dawgs, winning the match 7-6 (7-2).
No. 118 Sakar finished first on both the doubles and singles courts, not giving up one point in singles to Seattle's Quintana on court 4, 6-0, 6-0.
For Sakar, tonight's win kickstarted the momentum the team needed to head into conference play and the rest of the season.
"It's all about momentum," Sakar said. "I think matches like these allow us to work on specific plays and strengths and weaknesses that we've been trying to hone in on in practice so that they're nice and sharp for the big leagues – the Pac-12 and Big Ten matches."
Matsuda only gave up a point in each set to her Seattle No. 1 opponent, winning the match 6-1, 6-1. Fortin shortly after collected the fourth win and secured the match for the Huskies, defeating the Redhawks' Nokolova, 6-4, 6-1.
After clinching the win, the action played on as it came down to the freshmen at the end to lock in all seven points for Washington.
"I think it helps for everyone to be able to play the full match, even after clinching," Fortin said. "It feels good for me to complete and win a match. It definitely gives me confidence with Pac-12 season coming up really soon."
After dropping a first set 4-6, Jacobs secured a 6-2 second set win to push the match to a tiebreak, which she won 10-6.
Gagnon, in her first singles action as a Husky, had the pressure on as she was the last to pull out a grueling win on court 6 in two sets, 6-4, 7-5.
The Huskies improve to 11-0 against Seattle U – ten of those 11 coming in 7-0 sweeping fashion.
Washington is home for two more matches this weekend at the NTC – hosting Portland Friday night at 5 p.m. and No. 75 San Diego State on Sunday at noon.
HEAD COACH ROBIN STEPHENSON THOUGHTS
Overall thoughts…
"I thought we played really well. We came out and competed really hard. I thought the doubles point was crucial – I was impressed with how they came out and then how we responded to that. We got down on a couple courts and then battled back and found a way to get through that. That gave us some momentum going into singles, where I thought we were pretty sharp on every court. It was good to see our two freshmen close it out at the end and get wins. Catherine (Gagnon) on that last court – it was her first dual match – so it was awesome to see her get a win in singles and doubles."
On veteran leadership on the team..
"That experience is huge. We've got Mel (Sakar) who's a 6th year senior, we've got a couple 5th year seniors – just having that experience and they know how to approach these matches and how to go about it. The younger ones looking up to them – on how to keep their composure, how to compete, how to bounce back after losses, all that kind of stuff – I think our seniors are doing a good job leading the way."
On tonight being a team win…
"It was a team effort and a team win – it was good to see everybody get a win, especially after some really tough matches at Nationals a couple weeks ago. I think I was most impressed with us as a whole and the way we played together and just got it done."
Washington Women's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2024
Seattle, Wash.
Washington – 7
Seattle – 0
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
Order of finish: 4, 1, 5, 3, 2, 6
Follow @uw_wtennis on Instagram and X this season for all team updates and content.
Freshman Catherine Gagnon made her Husky appearance in both doubles and singles, winning the first doubles match of the evening with partner Melissa Sakar, 6-4 on court 3.
The remaining two doubles courts went down to the wire, with the No. 34-ranked pair Astrid Olsen and Alexia Jacobs' match abandoned at 6-all thanks to a win on court 2. Erika Matsuda and Sarah-Maude Fortin earned their seventh doubles victory of the season to clinch the doubles point for the Dawgs, winning the match 7-6 (7-2).
No. 118 Sakar finished first on both the doubles and singles courts, not giving up one point in singles to Seattle's Quintana on court 4, 6-0, 6-0.
For Sakar, tonight's win kickstarted the momentum the team needed to head into conference play and the rest of the season.
"It's all about momentum," Sakar said. "I think matches like these allow us to work on specific plays and strengths and weaknesses that we've been trying to hone in on in practice so that they're nice and sharp for the big leagues – the Pac-12 and Big Ten matches."
Matsuda only gave up a point in each set to her Seattle No. 1 opponent, winning the match 6-1, 6-1. Fortin shortly after collected the fourth win and secured the match for the Huskies, defeating the Redhawks' Nokolova, 6-4, 6-1.
After clinching the win, the action played on as it came down to the freshmen at the end to lock in all seven points for Washington.
"I think it helps for everyone to be able to play the full match, even after clinching," Fortin said. "It feels good for me to complete and win a match. It definitely gives me confidence with Pac-12 season coming up really soon."
After dropping a first set 4-6, Jacobs secured a 6-2 second set win to push the match to a tiebreak, which she won 10-6.
Gagnon, in her first singles action as a Husky, had the pressure on as she was the last to pull out a grueling win on court 6 in two sets, 6-4, 7-5.
The Huskies improve to 11-0 against Seattle U – ten of those 11 coming in 7-0 sweeping fashion.
Washington is home for two more matches this weekend at the NTC – hosting Portland Friday night at 5 p.m. and No. 75 San Diego State on Sunday at noon.
HEAD COACH ROBIN STEPHENSON THOUGHTS
Overall thoughts…
"I thought we played really well. We came out and competed really hard. I thought the doubles point was crucial – I was impressed with how they came out and then how we responded to that. We got down on a couple courts and then battled back and found a way to get through that. That gave us some momentum going into singles, where I thought we were pretty sharp on every court. It was good to see our two freshmen close it out at the end and get wins. Catherine (Gagnon) on that last court – it was her first dual match – so it was awesome to see her get a win in singles and doubles."
On veteran leadership on the team..
"That experience is huge. We've got Mel (Sakar) who's a 6th year senior, we've got a couple 5th year seniors – just having that experience and they know how to approach these matches and how to go about it. The younger ones looking up to them – on how to keep their composure, how to compete, how to bounce back after losses, all that kind of stuff – I think our seniors are doing a good job leading the way."
On tonight being a team win…
"It was a team effort and a team win – it was good to see everybody get a win, especially after some really tough matches at Nationals a couple weeks ago. I think I was most impressed with us as a whole and the way we played together and just got it done."
Washington Women's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2024
Seattle, Wash.
Washington – 7
Seattle – 0
Doubles
- No. 34 Astrid Olsen/Alexia Jacobs vs. Kraleva/Quintana (SU), 6-6, 2-0 DNF
- Sarah-Maude Fortin/Erika Matsuda def. Dimova/Kadowaki (SU), 7-6 (7-2)
- Melissa Sakar/Catherine Gagnon def. Avdic/Tavcar (SU), 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
- Erika Matsuda def. Kraleva (SU), 6-1, 6-1
- No. 78 Alexia Jacobs def. Avdic (SU), 4-6, 6-2 (10-6)
- Astrid Olsen def. Dimova (SU), 6-2, 6-4
- No. 118 Melissa Sakar def. Quintana (SU) 6-0, 6-0
- Sarah-Maude Fortin def. Nokolova (SU), 6-4, 6-1
- Catherine Gagnon def. Kadowaki (SU), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 4, 1, 5, 3, 2, 6
Follow @uw_wtennis on Instagram and X this season for all team updates and content.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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