Riverside City College women’s tennis is off to a winning start and defeated San Diego City College 6-3 at home on Feb. 5, advancing to a 3-1 record.

The Tigers opened against the Knights with high energy to start with their double teams. Doubles team Fleurdeliz Libutan and Caroline Pedredo pushed through their match as the Knights were sweeping through the sets. But in the end, the Tigers lost the first match of the day starting 0-1 on doubles.

Libutan said the loss was a “learning experience and all I can do is improve for the next, I need to be more active on the court and move my feet.”

As the other doubles continued, sisters Angelina and Julianna Capraro were able to snag a win against the Knights. This put all the pressure on the last team Brianna Nikas and Victoria Herrera as their match was the result of the tie breaker. 

The Tigers and the Knights were neck and neck, challenging each other’s moves, but ultimately Nikas and Herrera ended their match in a loss, leading the Knights into singles with a 2-1 lead.

Julianna Capraro was playing head to head in a tight match up. In the last set, Capraro hit a game point in an intense back and forth game, winning the set to take a second win with her singles. 

 “Overall it feels good to win,” Capraro said after taking home two wins, “But there were rough moments and I want to cut my mistakes going into the season.” 

Simultaneously on the court next to her, her sister Angelina Capraro was battling a tough game, trying to pick up the slack from her first set that put her at a disadvantage of 1-6 points.

By her last set, she was at game point and clutched the win. Both sisters dominated their games and helped lead the Tigers to victory.