ROHNERT PARK -- After losing two of the three doubles matches, the Sonoma State women's tennis team rallied to sweep all six singles matches and capture its first victory over UC San Diego in the history of SSU's program; a 7-2 triumph to snap an 0-26 skid against UCSD.  The 35th-ranked Seawolves have now won eight consecutive matches, rising to 12-4 this season.  The Tritons, ranked at No. 17 in the most recent ITA Division II Poll, fell to 7-11 on the year.

The pairing of Leire Martinez and Lauren Ha at No. 2 doubles got Sonoma State off to a quick lead after dispatching their opponents, 8-2, but UC San Diego overcame a couple of back-and-forth battles at No. 1 and No. 3 to give the visiting Triton squad a 2-1 overall match lead going into singles play.

It was then that the Seawolves flexed their muscle and clinched the match victory with four straight-set wins.  Martinez made quick work of UCSD's Paula Chou at No. 2 (6-4, 6-0) before Budge walked off the court with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5 against Shannon Theisen.  Celma, who is ranked as the No. 8 singles player in Division II, continued to dominate her opponents, knocking off 26th-ranked Kyra Scott (7-6, 6-1) at No. 1 singles, before Ha scored the Seawolves' fifth point to secure the match win with a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles.  Haithcock and Johnson both won their first set, lost the second, but rallied to take the third set and two more wins for Sonoma State.

Celma has been nothing less than impressive in 2014 as she remains unblemished at 13-0 in dual matches and, dating back to the fall tournaments, 20-3 overall this season, matching last year's record-breaking campaign to sport a 40-6 career record at SSU.  Martinez has also been nothing short of excellent in her first season with the Seawolves; she has won 13 straight matches in singles play, improving to 14-1 on the year.  Johnson, Budge and Ha all have won seven consecutive matches and Haithcock extended her win streak to six.

Sonoma State will continue its stretch of matches against tough opponents on Saturday when it hosts No. 20 Cal State L.A. at 11:00 am.  The Seawolves will then take three days off before hosting No. 3 BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday.

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#35 Sonoma State 7, #17 UC San Diego 2
Mar 28, 2014 at Rohnert Park, CA (SSU Tennis Courts)

Singles competition
1. #8 Sara Celma (SSU) def. #26 Kyra Scott (UCSD) 7-6, 6-1
2. Leire Martinez (SSU) def. Paula Chou (UCSD) 6-4, 6-0
3. Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) def. Nava Nowamooz (UCSD) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
4. Sheena Johnson (SSU) def. Tara Vanooteghem (UCSD) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
5. Karlee Budge (SSU) def. Shannon Theisen (UCSD) 6-0, 6-3
6. Lauren Ha (SSU) def. Lisa Asai (UCSD) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #17 Kyra Scott/Paula Chou (UCSD) def. Sara Celma/Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) 8-5
2. Leire Martinez/Lauren Ha (SSU) def. Nava Nowamooz/Shannon Theisen (UCSD) 8-2
3. Tara Vanooteghem/Laura Wilke (UCSD) def. Sheena Johnson/Karlee Budge (SSU) 8-6

Match Notes
UC San Diego 7-11; National ranking #17; Regional ranking #5
Sonoma State 12-4; National ranking #35; Regional ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,1,6,3,4)

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