By Michael Davis
Sitting as the seventh seed in the Big West Conference standings, the Matadors still have a lot to play for Saturday, as they will face off against the University of Pacific.
With no way to improve or slip in the seedings, this match will mark the last for some of the players.
Senior Nina Jaworowski has played at CSUN for the last four years and is very excited to play in this weekend’s game.
“I am looking forward to playing my last regular season game at home this Saturday. I feel very confident heading into this weekend and would love to end my season with a big win,” Jaworowski said. “We hope to capture a tough victory and carry all of our momentum into the Big West Tournament.”
Saturday’s heavily anticipated matchup will be no walk in the park for the Matadors, especially for the No. 1-seeded Brooke Doane, who is also a senior.
Doane will be going up against last year’s Big West Player of the Year, Jenifer Widjaja. With both players being their respective teams’ top seed, the matchup has the potential to be a great one.
Doane is coming off of a slight back injury in a victory over Loyola Marymount on April 14, but said she will be ready to go this weekend.
“It has been an up and down season with me facing some injuries throughout the year, but this one seems to be minor. I am very excited to play my last home game as a Matador and will settle for nothing less than a win,” Doane said.
Even though her tennis career will be over, Doane said she will be part of the team, in one way or another.
“I will be studying at CSUN for one more year, so I will not be completely gone. I will still come watch the team play and I will always be rooting them on,” she said. “I know I cannot play in my fifth year at school, but I will do everything and anything I can off the court to help the team to progress and keep getting better.”
Coming off two straight home loses, Pacific is sitting at 8-10 overall, but have a 4-3 record in the conference. The Tigers are sitting at the fifth seed for the tournament and currently two spots above Northridge.
CSUN coach Gary Victor knows how much Doane and Jaworowski mean to the team and he said there is nothing he wants more than a home victory against the Tigers.
“The two seniors mean everything to this program. These ladies are amazing teammates to the younger players, but more so than that, they are great people,” Victor said. “They are outstanding leaders and have brought so much success to our tennis program.”
Victor said his team’s next opponent is a formidable one, but points out his team is still a tough one even if the seed is not favorable.
“Pacific has a good team, but we have had a lot of success against them in the past. Even at our lowest seed in many years, we are a very dangerous team. We will be going into Saturday not worried about our seeding though, and more focused on getting a victory over these tough Tigers,” Victor said.
The match is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Matador Tennis Complex.
