MORAGA, Calif. — After a split opening weekend in Berkeley, the Gaels will head to Stanford for a four match weekend as part of the Battle of the Bays. The event will begin at 8 AM on Friday, March 1, as the Gaels will take on San Jose State, followed by a 10 AM match with UC Davis. Day two of the event will start at 8 AM once again, this time with the Gaels taking on sixth ranked TCU, before taking on Oregon in their finale at 12 PM.
The Gaels opened their season last week taking both eighth ranked Cal and WCC foe Santa Clara. The Gaels fell 5-0 to Cal to begin their year, despite a herculean effort from the #5 pair of Nya Crump and Paola Peralta, who forced a third set against Cal's Ella Sears and Kendall Peters, before falling in that decisive set by a narrow 15-12 tally. Against Santa Clara, the Gaels avenged both their season opening loss to the Golden Bears and their season ending loss a year ago to the Broncos, defeating their rivals from the South Bay, 4-1. The Gaels got convincing wins from their number one and two pairs of Sedona Sherman/Sadie Shipman and Hawley Harrer/Hannah Couch. Look for these two pairs to both vie for WCC Pair of the Week honors multiple times this season.
While not being a WCC member, the Gaels are no strangers to the San Jose Spartans, having met 13 times over the last decade. Saint Mary's has only lost to the Spartans twice in that span, both coming in the 2022 season by narrow 3-2 decisions. Last year, the Gaels defeated San Jose State 4-1 in their only meeting, with the pairs of Karmin Brown/Hannah Couch and Hawley Harrer/Daniella Kensinger each taking a set by double-digits. San Jose State is 0-1 on the young season, falling to Cal, like the Gaels, in a 5-0 score.
The Gaels will next take on UC Davis, after dropping a pair of contests against the Aggies last season. Prior to that, the Gaels were 3-1 all time against UC Davis. Over the two matchups last season, the Aggies outscored the Gaels 7-3. The Aggies are 4-0 on the young season, having lost just two flights against Pacific and Utah in their opening weekend.
Saint Mary's will get their second look at a ranked squad in as many weeks, taking on the sixth ranked TCU Horned Frogs in their day two opener. This will mark the first ever meeting between the Gaels and TCU. The Horned Frogs are unbeaten in the early goings, with signature wins against then #15 Washington and #6 LSU. TCU will take on second ranked Stanford and Oregon on day one before taking on the Gaels to open day two.
The Gaels final opponent of the Battle of the Bays will be Head Coach Janice Harrer's former school, the University of Oregon. In five meetings, the Gaels have never lost to the Ducks, with their last win coming when Coach Harrer was still on the Oregon staff back in 2022. Only Hawley Harrer and Karmin Brown have played against the Ducks amongst current Gaels. The Ducks are 1-4 this season, with their lone win coming in 3-2 fashion over Southeastern Louisiana. The Ducks will play second ranked Stanford and sixth ranked TCU before taking on the Gaels.
All games will be stated live here.
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