By Ron Smith
March 3, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Women's Tennis (6-4) welcomed the Warriors of Jessup to the Abbott Tennis Courts on Saturday and produced a 7-0 victory without dropping a set. The Warriors have now won four of their last five matches.
 
"It was a fun day," said Westmont's head coach Sheila Snyder. "We arrived with a lot of energy, which was fun to see."
 
Westmont started the match with a 1-0 advantage because Jessup was short one player and could not field anyone to play at number six singles. They also spotted Westmont a 1-0 lead in doubles play.
 
On court number one, Thea Donarski and Sabina Salva produced a 6-0 victory over Jessup's Briana Smith and Giselle Reschke. Then on court number two, Liska Knight and Ellie Triplett overcame Rylie Maloney and Danielle Akabane by a 6-1 tally.
 
In singles play, the Warriors won handily on courts one, three, four and five. At number one, Donarski won 6-0, 6-1 over Smith while at number three Spitzer posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Akabane. Over at number four Triplett posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Maloney. Then on court five, Rashid downed Maria Antonella Cardenas 6-2, 6-1.
 
The more challenging match of the day came at number two singles where Salva was playing Reschke. In the first set, Salva found herself down early and had to rally to get the win.
 
"Unfortunately, today was a day when I didn't feel as comfortable or confident as I usually do," said Salva. "With the help of my teammates energizing me up, my coaches being by my side and my parents being there – and also the love for the game – I was able to turn it around after being down 1-4.
 
"Looking around, everyone was done with their first set. I thought, 'It's my senior year, I'm playing for my team and I love what I am doing. I am going to do my best and do everything in my power to turn things around right now.'"
 
"She had a tough opponent," noted Snyder. "I think Sabina was putting a little too much pressure on herself. Once she settled in and got comfortable, she ran with it. She was down 2-5 in the first set, but came back and won on the tiebreaker. I told her just to relax, play her game and settle in – and she did."
 
"Being down 2-5, I focused on getting all the balls in," said Sabina. "I went up 6-5, but then she came back at me and tied it 6-all. It was kind of irritating to work so hard and then have the other player tie it back on me. I told myself, 'I've done this a million times before. It's just a game. I was confident in my skills and I worked hard. So, I was going to go in and do what I do best. My coach emphasized staying loose and having fun."
 
Salva won the tiebreaker 7-5 to complete the comeback and claim the first set.
 
"I definitely was playing a lot looser in the second set, which is seen in the difference of the scores. My mindset is usually that if I can get one game, I can get six more. If I can get a set, I can get one more. So I went into it playing free and saying, 'There is no need to put this pressure on because pressure makes me tight.' It was stopping and realizing that I am having fun and all I can do is come forward and do my best. That helped me deliver a more solid game in the second set."
 
Salva won the second set in convincing fashion by a score of 6-2.
 
"It feels really good to defend home court," said Salva. "Every game matters. It is definitely rewarding that the team came up on top today."
 
"It was a great way to start the week for us," agreed Snyder. "We have two tough opponents coming up and it gives us a little bit of confidence moving forward into these next opponents."
 
The Warriors will host Hawai'i Hilo (1-3) in an 11:30 a.m. game on Thursday, then travel to Cal State Los Angeles (0-4) on Saturday.