Torero tennis comes up short

USD men’s and women’s tennis teams couldn’t snag the championship in tournament last weekend

Maria Watters / Asst. Sports Editor

Players from both the University of San Diego men’s and women’s tennis teams took the court for the Barnes Tennis Center September Championships last weekend at the Barnes Tennis Center. Though not all the players from each team competed, Torero tennis was well-represented with four players from the men’s team — redshirt senior Garrett Kurtz, redshirt junior David Norfeldt, redshirt junior Nico Borter, and redshirt freshman Marvin Schaber — and three from the women’s team — redshirt sophomore Solymar Colling, redshirt first year Elizabeth Goldsmith, and first year Jordyn McBride. 

Though it would not count toward their national ranking as a team, the tournament provided the opportunity for the players to gain experience and work on the skills they didn’t have the chance to during their time away from the courts. This proved to be a successful event for the USD tennis players as Norfeldt and Goldsmith reached the semifinals, and Colling took second place overall for the women. 

All four men competed first on Saturday. Borter defeated Stanford University’s William Genesen in a close three-set match 2-6, 6-3, 10-7. Shaber lost his first match to Princeton University’s Will Peters 1-6, 3-6. It was a battle of the Toreros between Kurtz and Norfeldt for their first match, from which Norfeldt emerged victorious, defeating Kurtz 6-1, 6-3. 

In the second round, while Kurtz and Shaber moved on to play their matches in the back draw for those who were eliminated in the first two rounds, Borter was defeated by UCLA’s Keegan Smith in another highly competitive three set contest  4-6, 7-6, 5-10. Meanwhile, Norfeldt took on Alan Yim from Harvard and won 6-0, 7-5.  

By the quarterfinals, Norfeldt was the last man standing for the Toreros. But despite the pressure, Norfeldt took the opportunity to work on his individual game and improve his competitive mindset.  

“I just wanted to play physical and get into the right state of mind,” Norfeldt said. “I wanted to get that winning feeling and to gain confidence.”

In his quarterfinal match, Norfeldt defeated Riley Smith of the University of Southern California in two sets 6-4, 7-6. 

Going into day two of the tournament, Norfeldt had three victories under his belt and the championship within reach. But standing between him and finals was Karl Poling from Princeton. The 42nd ranked college player in the country, Poling would not be the toughest opponent on paper Norfeldt had faced in the tournament, as his quarterfinal opponent, Smith, was ranked 15th in the nation. Despite his lower ranking, Poling was able to defeat Norfeldt in two sets 6-3, 6-4.

Though there would not be a Torero in the men’s final, assistant coach Sebastian Rey was still pleased with his players’ performances.

“The main goal was for our boys to continue to get matches under their belts and continue to work their way into the semester from a match perspective since we were not able to get a full season of competition due to COVID,” Rey said. “It was great to have these guys compete again and continue to develop their games.”

While the men battled it out on their side of the tournament, the Torero women were dominating their first round of matches on Saturday. Seeded 2nd and 4th respectively, Colling and Goldsmith received byes for the first round, leaving McBride to be the sole Torero competing in the round of 32 for the women. But despite not playing beside her USD teammates, McBride defeated Ayala Stephens in a two set victory 6-4, 6-0.

With all of the Toreros reaching the round of 16, Goldsmith and Colling would take the court for the first time in the tournament alongside McBride. Goldsmith made quick work of her first opponent, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. McBride followed suit, defeating her second opponent of the tournament, 6-2, 6-1. In one of the last matches on Saturday, Colling had a tougher battle with her first opponent, but managed to secure the win in two sets 6-4, 6-1. 

Having survived the first day of competition, all three USD women appeared in the quarterfinals on Sunday. For McBride and Goldsmith, their next matchup would be against each other, a Torero versus Torero contest for a spot in the semifinals. The highly competitive match left Goldsmith victorious over her teammate in three sets 4-6, 6-1, 10-6. 

On the other side of the bracket, Colling had just one more match between her and a spot in the semifinal. But Colling would not be denied another match as she won in a decisive two set victory 6-2, 6-3. 

In the semifinals Goldsmith faced the top seed, while Colling took on Camille Kiss of UC Santa Barbara. Despite her best efforts, Goldsmith was defeated in two sets 2-6, 4-6, leaving Colling the last Torero in the women’s tournament. And despite finishing her quarterfinal match just an hour before, Colling muscled her way to a two set victory 6-4, 6-2. 

Colling would have to leave the previous two days of competition behind her in order to enter into her championship match on Monday with a positive mindset and focus on her game.

“There were a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of great moments and frustrating moments,” Colling said. “There is definitely work to do, but I was just happy to be able to compete.”

Colling had an uphill battle in front of her  as she lost the first set 3-6, dropping her first set of the whole tournament. But Colling came back strong, dominating the second set 6-1. The decision would come down to a ten point tiebreaker. After an intense twenty points, Colling was defeated 9-11. 

Despite the losses, assistant coach Nadia Abdala was very pleased with how the Toreros performed.

“This tournament was great exposure for them and it will definitely help their confidence for the upcoming tournament in early October,” Abdala said. “Sherri and I feel very confident about our team. They are working really hard and making each other better on a daily basis.”

Though the Toreros did not take home the championship, the ability to compete during a pandemic will no doubt aid in their preparations for their upcoming competitions. And it seems that by the time the regular season rolls around, the USD men’s and women’s tennis teams will be a force to be reckoned with.