Santa Clara women’s tennis hosted their sole home event of the fall season at the Degheri Tennis Center this past weekend from Oct. 23-25. They hosted San José State, Sacramento State and University of the Pacific over three days of match play.

The hidden dual tournament format is unique and unlike spring match play, as matches count exclusively toward Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings, Universal Tennis Ratings and individual fall records.

For head coach Allie Will-Van Alstyne, the weekend was valuable for her roster, featuring new additions and testing different doubles combinations ahead of the spring season.

“With six new players on the team, it was a great way to learn about the girls and their playing styles,” Will-Van Alstyne said. “The girls capitalized on competing in front of a home crowd, and our goal throughout was simply to get one day better.”

Day 1: Straight-Set Wins and A Comeback

The Broncos opened the tournament Friday morning with five singles matches against San José State. Santa Clara picked up three victories, all coming in straight sets.

The match of the day was on court 3, with Ashley Katz ’28 against Katarina Brajovic. Down 2-5 in the opening set, Katz turned things around, winning 11 of the next 12 games to close out a 7-5, 6-1 comeback. This is Katz’ second year at Santa Clara. She began her college tennis career at Kansas, coming in as a top-25 junior national player from Sydney, Australia.

“I had a rough start. I was playing tense,” Katz shared. “The energy shifted because of my team. They kept cheering me on, and I started playing free. My go-to game style is to play aggressively and get to the net.”

Lara Quaglia ’29 pulled out a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 win over Nitika Girish on court 2 despite several long baseline rallies, while Alexandra O’Brien ’27 picked up a smooth 6-3, 6-4 victory over Camila Celis on court 5.

On court 1, Ashley Kurizaki ’30 made her home debut in the top spot against Emilija Prantye. Showcasing a powerful backhand and patience in long rallies, the Hawaii native stayed collected through a hard-fought 5-7 first set before dropping the second 1-6. On court 4, Juliette Krumholz fell 3-6, 3-6 to Cristina Losada.

Day 2: Broncos Sweep Across Singles and Doubles

Saturday brought a packed day with three morning doubles victories against Sacramento State and five afternoon singles wins against the University of the Pacific.

In singles, Anna Rahman ’28 rallied from a set down and trailed 0-3 in the second set against Pacific’s India McLeod, storming back to win six of the next seven games to force a decider, closing out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Madhu Satishbabu ’28 dominated on court 6, taking down Sacramento State’s Francesca De Matteo 6-4, 6-0 in singles. Katz stayed perfect on the weekend, picking up a 6-2, 6-3 singles win over Pacific’s Nareen Chema, while O’Brien added to the Broncos campaign with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Pacific’s Miyu Takiguchi.

Quaglia lost a tight three-set match to Maya Shanok 2-6, 6-2, 5-7, while Sonja Hadjipavlou ’29 dropped a 4-6, 4-6 match to Lily Ung.

Doubles play allowed Will-Van Alstyne to experiment with partner chemistry. Katz teamed up with Quaglia for a dominant 6-1 win over Sacramento State’s De Matteo and Jess Schilz, while O’Brien paired with Eliana Kook ’29 for a 6-3 win over Irene Riva and Dasha Savina.

Kurizaki and Rahman fought hard but dropped a 5-7 set to Reese Walker and Nel Van Hout.

In extra Saturday play, Katz teamed up with Satishbabu for a 6-4 win over Pacific’s Takiguchi and Rayna Suhai.

“Getting to play with Madhu, who is my roommate and friend, was just really fun,” Katz said.

Meanwhile, O’Brien and Kurizaki dropped an extra doubles set 2-6 to Indiya McLeod and Leyanne Hirota.

Day 3: Kurizaki’s Three-Set Comeback Win Closes Out the Weekend

The Broncos wrapped up the tournament on Sunday with three singles wins and a doubles victory.

The highlight of the day came from Kurizaki on court 1 against Sacramento State’s Nel Van Hout. After losing the first set 2-6 and falling behind 0-5 in the second set, the freshman miraculously forced a tiebreak, winning it 7-4. In the deciding third set, Kurizaki saved three match points to cap off a 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win.

“Ashley has an incredible calmness and amazing grit to her,” Will-Van Alstyne said. “She’s very comfortable in those moments, highly coachable, and we can’t wait to keep developing her game.”

Quaglia also showed resilience, rallying from a set down to defeat Sacramento State’s Jess Schilz 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, while Satishbabu earned her second singles win of the weekend in a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Pacific’s Takiguchi. In extra doubles play, Katz and Rahman paired up for a 6-2 win over Pacific’s McLeod and Leanne Hirota.

Looking ahead, with two of their three fall events completed, the Broncos will conclude their fall season at San José State Hidden Dual from Nov. 6-8 at the Spartan Tennis Complex in San Jose.