The shorthanded VC women's tennis team put up a solid fight at Orange Coast Tuesday, but fell 5-0 to the Southern California Regional's top seed. Ventura, the No. 7-seed, played without two regular players in their first playoff appearance since 2012. Nell Elaerts came back from a 4-0 deficit in No. 1 singles and dropped her first set 6-4 when OCC clinched the match while Alexis Schmidt was ahead early playing up at No. 2 before trailing 5-4 when play ended.
In doubles play, Elaerts and Schmidt, playing together for the first time all season, gave it a run in the No. 1 slot falling 8-5. Dee Emami and Marcie McTigue dropped their No. 3 doubles pairing 8-3 while Elizabeth Nguyen and Laura Rubio fell in No. 2 doubles.
Down 3-0, Ventura kept up the fight despite the long odds. Elaerts, playing up one spot from her normal No. 2 match, went down 4-0 early before coming back to win four of five games before falling 6-4 in the first set. Meanwhile, Schmidt went ahead in her No. 2 match despite playing up from her normal No. 3 spot.
Ventura (6-8) ends the team portion of its season with the playoff loss. Elaerts and Talia Lieb have qualified for the state championships in singles while Elaerts and Lieb, and Schmidt and Nguyen are scheduled to play in doubles at The Ojai later this month.
Ventura 0, Orange Coast 5
Doubles
1. Schmidt/Elaerts(VC) lost Koitka/Veltri (OCC), 8-5
2. Rubio/Nguyen (VC) lost to Smith/Sipiora (OCC), 8-1
3. McTigue/Emami (VC) lost to Nelson/Pascua (OCC), 8-3
Singles
1. Nell Elaerts (VC) down to Logan Koitka (OCC), 6-4, DNF
2. Alexis Schmidt (VC) down to Camila Nelson (OCC), 5-4, DNF
3. Elizabeth Nguyen (VC) lost to Sedona Smith (OCC), 6-0, 6-1
4. Laura Rubio (VC) lost to Madeleine Veltri (OCC), 6-0, 6-1
5. Marcie McTigue (VC) down to Olivia Sipiora (OCC), 6-1, 5-1, DNF
6. Dee Emami (VC) lost to Leanne Pascua (OCC), 6-0, 6-0