Terry Malley celebrates birthday with San Jose State football

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By: Ana Kieu

The range of celebrities born on August 6 includes Hall of Fame basketball player David Robinson, pop icon Andy Warhol, legendary comedienne Lucille Ball, ESPN Sports Radio host Mike Greenberg and San Jose State University football’s Terry Malley.

Actually, it would be Santa Clara County’s Terry Malley for his 35-plus years coaching high school, college and professional football in the Bay Area, particularly in the South Bay.

Malley, who would downplay any celebrity status, is in his second season as an analyst on head coach Brent Brennan’s staff. Jokingly, he said on his 65th birthday, he balances out the average age in the room, but he means a lot more than that to the Spartans.

“When I came on with Brent (Brennan), I sit in on all the offensive meetings and go to all the practices. I’m involved in the evaluation of all the recruiting. It’s different from coaching because I can’t coach people on the field,” said Malley, who was a quarterback for his dad Patrick “Pat” Malley at Santa Clara University during the 1972 through 1975 seasons before he went into coaching.

“My role is they needed an older guy on the staff to balance out the younger guys and give some feedback on things that need to be addressed.”

Through time, Malley has seen the game of football evolve in many ways. One area he discussed was the approach to fall camp at the college level.

“It’s amazing how much it’s changed. In the old days, you had three weeks before the first game. You had two weeks of ‘double days’ and the last week was singles. So, you had three weeks total. We don’t have a ‘double day’ at all,” said Malley, who coached six NCAA Division II nationally-ranked Santa Clara teams in eight seasons and was an offensive coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats’ four Arena Bowl championships before joining the Spartans.

“The interesting thing is you have as many injuries practicing once a day as you did in the old days practicing twice. The other change is having kids around all summer long allows you to run into camp with a little bit of steam as afar as kids knowing what to do and getting practice going at a lot quicker pace than what you did in the past.”

Malley treasures the relationships he built in the game particularly with players from all his teams and the experiences that come from them.

“The awesome thing is the people you’re involved with — the great kids that came to play for you. I did the (San Jose) SaberCats. You had older guys, but they were older guys who still liked to play. They were special. I’ve fallen in love with the kids who play here for a good four to five year period,” said Malley, who first joined the Spartans in 2009 and oversaw the development of wide receivers Chandler Jones and Noel Grigsby, one-two on the San Jose State career receiving lists.

“I got to work with my dad (Pat Malley) at Santa Clara. When we first took over there, we were very good and it was very enjoyable. Our time with the SaberCats and winning the Arena Bowl is hard to beat. And, coming here going from not very good to 11-2 was just an awesome experience.”

“The best one still is yet to come. I think we’re going to finish this off here with this group pretty soon. I’m excited to have the best one still to come.”

“I’m very lucky to be involved with them.”

And, San Jose State is fortunate to have him as important member of the Spartan football family.

“Playoffs?” Sleepy performance in 4-0 loss to the Nationals takes Giants back below .500

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO — The single-minded focus and intensity demanded by the fully loaded National League post-season race came home to San Francisco Monday night and got misdirected and lost in the meandering starting appearance put forth by Jeff Samardzija.

Not good. For the Giants, or the playoff chase.

For one, the Giants were backs to the wall, back to .500 and still under the break even line at home where the Oracle Park fans have waited patiently for benefits of a hot July to translate into a watchable product. If any night would conjure the team’s best this was it. Except it wasn’t.

Those fans are still waiting patiently. With Samardzija drowning in quick (slow) sand, the Giants went meekly to the Nationals, 4-0.

Anthony Rendon singled in a run, and Matt Adams doubled home Adam Eaton in the fifth to back the pitching of Erik Fedde, who was facing the Giants for the first time. Fedde pitched six innings, scattering five singles and a double while walking none, and picked up his second win of the season.

Fedde was supposed to be fallible. Instead he pitched six innings without allowing a run for the first time in his major league career.

“The ball was down,” manager Dave Martinez said of Fedde. “He’s really good when he’s down. He’s really effective.”

While Fedde cruised through six frames needing just 75 pitches, Samardzija couldn’t get his pitches over the plate in what seemed like an endless stream of three-ball counts. The patient approach suits the Nationals on most nights, and this was no different. Their breakthrough wasn’t immediate, but they were ready when it materialized.

“They made me work, slider wasn’t very good today,” Samardzija said. “They fouled off a lot of pitches so the pitch count got a little high. That was the story.”

Samardzija hasn’t enjoyed much success facing the Nats, last beating them in 2013. He hasn’t pitched well at home this season either, so his outing was an intersection of the two. But his pitch count was a whole different animal; 83 pitches through three innings, and 98 through four when his outing ended.  Samardzija allowed just three hits, but it felt much larger.

The Giants have dropped seven of 11, and saw the streaking Mets pass them in the standings with a doubheader sweep. While the out of town scoreboard has been kind to the Giants the last two weeks, they haven’t taken advantage. On Monday, the scoreboard was mean, and the Giants fell 3 1/2 games behind the wild card leaders for the first time in two weeks.

While Samardzija didn’t aid his team on the mound, he did provide wisdom.

“To stay that hot (continually) for three months would be a pretty remarkable thing,” he said. “We just need to keep our heads on straight.”

The Giants get a second shot at the Nationals Tuesday with Connor Menez to be promoted from Triple-A Sacramento to make the start. He’ll be opposed by Washington’s Joe Ross.

Aces fall to Mystics in “earthquake” game, 99-70

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Photo credit: Sports Radio Service/Shawn McCullough

By Shawn McCullough

It’s a little tough to re-start a game one month later being down by 15 at half time and have any hope to win the game.

The Aces and the Washington Mystics played just the second half of a game suspended back on July 5th due to an earthquake in Las Vegas, with the Mystics winning the game 99-70.

The game back in July was suspended at halftime with the Mystics leading 51-36 due to the effects in Las Vegas of a 7.1 earthquake centered in Ridgecrest, CA, 226 miles away.

“It’s a weird day, weird time,” said head coach Bill Laimbeer.  “We had a sliver of a chance there in the third quarter if we made a couple shots and didn’t give them open three balls but once that closed, it was a little difficult to come back against a team like that.”

The Aces were led by guard Kelsey Plum who scored 17 point including three 3-pointers.

“Obviously we were down by 15 [starting the game at halftime], you have to make something happen and play something fast and get the ball up quickly,” said Plum.  “Luckily a couple fell, but unfortunately they made a lot of shots and our defense wasn’t great.  We gave them second opportunities and they hit a lot of three balls. They are a really good team and if you give them extra possessions, they’ll make you pay for it.”

A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage both played in the first half of the game back on July 5th, but both sat out the second half tonight (Wilson – Ankle, Cambage – Rest).

With the loss, the Aces fell to 15-8 on the season and dropped to 3rd in the WNBA standings.

The Aces will next play the Chicago Sky on Friday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Las Vegas Aces – http://aces.wnba.com

Game Notes:

  • The first half of the game back on July 5th was played at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, while the second half was played tonight at T-Mobile Arena.
  • The Mystics’ 99 points are the most allowed by the Aces in a regulation 40-minute game this season
  • Washington outshot the Aces 54.8% to 38.9% from the field

Game Starters (on July 5th):

F – 22 A’ja Wilson
F – 21 Kayla McBride
C – 8 Liz Cambage
G – 0 Jackie Young
G – 10 Kelsey Plum

 

The Cubs hit four home runs to down the A’s 6-5

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s dropped a thriller to the Chicago Cubs 6-5 in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Monday. It was the A’s first visit to Wrigley since June 2010. The A’s starter Chris Bassitt entered the game with a record of 7-5. The Cubs named Kyle Hendricks as their starter. Hendricks’ record was 8-8, and his ERA was 3.07.

The Cubs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Nick Castellanos, obtained by the Cubs from the Detroit Tigers at the trading deadline, hit his first home run as a Cub. It was his 12th of the year. He tormented the A’s when he was a member of the Tigers.

The A’s took the lead in the top of the third. Hendricks, who very rarely walks a hitter, issued a free pass to Jurickson Profar. Profar went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bassitt. Marcus Semien followed with his 18th blast of the year. He hit an opposite-field home run to give the A’s the lead 2-1.

The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Cubs second baseman Javy Baez homered. Bassitt finished the inning. His line was six innings of work, two runs, and eight hits.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to work the seventh inning. Treinen had been pitching better of late, but Monday night was a nightmare for him. The Cubs scored four runs on four hits to take a 6-2 lead. Treinen served up a gopher ball to pinch-hitter Ian Happ, who was leading off. Jason Hayward singled and scored on Nick Castellanos’ double. Jay Baez hit his second of the night and 29th of the year to give Chicago the lead 6-2. Treinen’s lin was two thirds of an inning, four hits, four runs and he was tagged for two dingers in the inning.

The A’s rallied to put three on the board in the top of the eighth. Cubs veteran reliever, Steve Cishek, was on the mound. The first hitter he faced, Jurickson Profar, doubled. Cishek struck out A’s catcher Chris Herrmann for the first out. The A’s pinch-hitter Nick Martini gave Cishek quite a battle. Cishek and Martini engaged in an 11-pitch struggle that was won by Martini when he blasted a home run into the right-field seats to bring the A’s within two 6-4. The next hitter Marcus Semien blasted the first pitch from Cishek into the left-field bleachers to make it a 6-5 game. Cubs manager Joe Maddon brought in Brandon Kintzler to get the final out of the ninth.

The A’s failed to score in the top of the ninth. With two out, pinch-hitter Khris Davis walked. Chad Pinder followed with a single. Maddon replaced Kyle Ryan with David Phelps. Phelps, acquired by the Cubs in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, had to face the hot-hitting Marcus Semien. Semien hit the ball hard, but it was not far enough as it was caught in left field for the final out of the game. The Cubs won 6-5.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s drop to 64-49. The Tampa Bay Rays also lost so the A’s remain a half game behind the Rays for the second Wild Card slot. The Cubs improved to 61-51 and remain in first place in the NL Central.

Neither starter figured in the decision. Bassitt’s line was six innings, two runs, and eight hits. Hendricks line was 6 1/3 innings of work. He allowed two runs and just one hit.

Blake Treinen took the loss for Oakland.

The Cubs announced that their closer, Craig Kimbrel, was placed on the 10-day IL with a knee problem.

The Cubs’ line was six runs, 12 hits, and no errors. The A’s line was five runs, six hits, and no errors.

The A’s hit three homers in the game. Marcus Semien had two. The Cubs had four. Javy Baez also had two homers.

Time of game was three hours and 18 minutes. 40,721 people were crammed into the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs win.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will start at 5:05 pm. It will be a battle of lefty pitchers. Brett Anderson (9-7) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jon Lester (9-7). Lester pitched for the A’s in 2014.

San Jose State football adds Toledo and UTEP to future schedules

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By: Ana Kieu

Future San Jose State University football teams will be facing non-conference opponents with air and ground nicknames starting in 2023 in home-and-home series with the University of Toledo Rockets and the University of Texas El Paso Miners. Athletics director Marie Tuite made the announcement on behalf of San Jose State.

The Spartans and the Rockets will embark on regular-season football for the first time, Saturday, September 16, 2023 in Toledo, Ohio. The return game is set for Saturday, September 9, 2028 in CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans.

San Jose State and Toledo played in the inaugural California Bowl in Fresno, Calif., in 1981. Despite the Spartans overcoming a 21-3 second-half deficit and taking a 25-24 lead with 0:52 remaining in the game, the Rockets still won, 27-25, on a 41-yard field goal with 0:15 left on the clock.

Toledo becomes the third Mid-American Conference school member on San Jose State’s future football schedules through the 2028 season. The Spartans have home and home non-conference games with Western Michigan (2021 — away; 2022 — home) and Central Michigan (2020 — away, 2025 — home).

San Jose State and UTEP have games scheduled for September 26, 2026 in San Jose and September 25, 2027 in El Paso’s Sun Bowl.

The Spartans and the Miners have a much longer football history than the Spartans and Rockets. Dating back to 1966. San Jose State and UTEP have split 10 meetings. Nine of the 10 games occurred between 1996 and 2004 when both schools were Western Athletic Conference members. San Jose State came away winners in five of those WAC games. UTEP is the first Conference USA team on the Spartans’ future football schedules.

Presently, tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.

San Jose State football’s first week of practice went well

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By: Ana Kieu

For San Jose State University football head coach Brent Brennan, the first day of practice in full pads and full contact mode was about coming together on the field and by five standout seniors with soaring goals when their football careers are completed.

The team practiced with game officials as players, coaches and officials and experienced live situations for the first time this fall.

For the coaching staff, they now can pinpoint the progress made in the first week of fall camp, what is going well and areas for improvement. And, they are ready to learn what they have as they embark on week two in preparation for the August 29 season opener with Northern Colorado in CEFCU Stadium, at 7:00 p.m.

“It was a great day. It was intense the way it should be in full gear. We took turns making plays on both sides of the ball. Now, we’re going to have some tape of playing real football that we can evaluate and see where we are at,” Brennan said about the August 4 practice session.

“I love the way this team comes to work, the excitement, the energy and the enthusiasm they bring. Today, with pads on, I liked the intensity. There was some physicality and big plays. It’s all part of that learning and growing process that goes in training camp.”

While practice is the primary focus for players and coaches this time of the year, Brennan also can be proud of the number of seniors enrolled this fall in San Jose State University master’s degree programs. From an athletics eligibility standpoint, tight end Brett Foley, punter Alex Galland, defensive back Chandler Hawkins, and offensive linemen Deano Motes and Quinn Oseland plan to add a master’s degree to their San Jose State experience.

Foley, Hawkins and Motes could be considered home grown after earning their bachelor’s degrees from San Jose State. Foley and Motes majored in business administration; Hawkins in psychology. Galland graduated from Yale majoring in mechanical engineering. Oseland majored in business marketing at the University of Minnesota.

“It means I’m getting as much out of this opportunity here at San Jose State as possible,” said Motes, a 2018 Academic All-Mountain West award winner enrolled in a M.B.A. program.

“It (the M.B.A) will help me see more of the real-world applications of the things I learned in my undergraduate experience.”

Foley also is enrolled in the M.B.A. program. He plans to be the first in his family to earn a master’s degree and was something he had in mind when he came to San Jose State from Archbishop Mitty High in 2015.

“One of those key criteria I looked at (when choosing a college) was the fact they (San Jose State) allow people to pursue a master’s degree and that is something I wanted to go after and I am happy to have that opportunity here,” said Foley, a 2019 San Jose State University Dean’s Scholar.

“It (a master’s) will help immensely, especially in this area. I know a lot of high-level execs (executives) come to San Jose State for their master’s program. It gives us a great opportunity to network with those people as a 22-year-old kid and learn as much as possible from them. It will help me down the road for sure.”

Galland and Oseland began their master’s degree program in public administration when they transferred to San Jose State last spring. Oseland enjoyed being Galland’s classmate in some classes. They both see how their choice of public administration will expand their horizons when they enter the business word.

“I will have a very wide array of skills and abilities and it will allow me to take on more and more responsibilities anywhere I go and add more value to whatever job I end up going,” said Galland, whose summer job experiences included working for a leading manufacturer of helicopters.

“Here I wanted to stay with the business mindset, because I could keep ‘stacking’ my degrees. So, I went with the public administration program here. It made the most sense,” said Oseland. “It gives a chance to see both worlds — the bachelor’s at Minnesota gave me a look at the private sector. Now, I’m taking public administration courses and that gives me a look at the public sector. I’m getting an eye on both.”

One could see early on that Hawkins would be a likely candidate for a master’s degree. The three-time Academic All-Mountain West award recipient also is a 2017 Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar who majored in psychology. He can be the first in family to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree program.

“It means a lot to be in a master’s program. I was focused on being the first in my family to achieve (being admitted into) being in a master’s program and to continue my dream playing football, said Hawkins, who is enrolled in an educational counseling program.

A master’s degree will help me a lot due to the fact I can learn a lot more and pursue opportunities at San Jose State and in the Silicon Valley. It also allows me to learn more about what I want to do career-wise.”

Oseland agrees with Hawkins on the added value of a master’s degree when his football career comes to a conclusion. As the 6-foot-6, 300-plus pound offensive lineman said, “A master’s degree is something I can hold on forever.”

“That’s what college football is all about — graduating from college and playing your best football. The bonus of starting a master’s program and getting on that path in furthering their education is something we preach to all of them,” said Brennan.

“When you look at those five guys who are all good players and good examples of doing things right, doing things the right way and taking that step for their life in the big picture, it fits exactly what we talk about here.

“It’s this holistic development of the young man. It’s not just football; it’s not just school. It’s all of it – social life, school, football, post-grad opportunity — all those things coming together. When you have five guys like that, that have done it right and are in that position, that’s exactly what we should be doing.”

There’s no practice on Monday, August 5. The first practice open to the public is Tuesday, August 6, at 9:40 a.m. The team’s first scrimmage is Saturday, August 10, 5:30 p.m. in CEFCU Stadium. There’s no admission charge.

Tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.

Podcast: Daniel Dullum talks sports that will make you think and laugh!!!

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Podcast: Daniel Dullum talks sports that will make you think and laugh!!!

  • Daniel is a reporter for SportsRadioService.com and the sports editor for the Apache Junction – Gold Canyon News in Arizona
  • Daniel and Charlie O have a great time talking baseball
  • They talk about the wild combined Astros no-hitter on Saturday night
  • Daniel and Charlie discuss the huge trade that brought Zach Grienke to the Astros and the impact that will make
  • What about the Giants and their moves?
  • Could they have been the Henderson, Nevada D-backs?
  • Will the Philly Phanatic be a free agent in 2020? Really!

Join Daniel and Charlie for some fun talking about all things baseball!

Podcast: Duca on baseball and the Giants

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Podcasts: Duca on baseball and the Giants

  • Michael Duca joins Charlie O to talk about the most important topics in baseball
  • Is the new trade deadline a good thing?
  • Why didn’t the Yankees and Dodgers get a deal done at the deadline?
  • Did the Giants do good hanging on to “MadBum”?
  • Did San Francisco move out the right players at the deadline?
  • What about Scooter? Does he fill a need?
  • Plus a discussion about hair or no hair!

Check out the talk! If you are a baseball fan, you will have a good time!!!

Stingy Athletics: A’s shut down Cardinals in series finale, 4-2

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By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND — It just so happened that the 163rd start of Tanner Roark’s seven-year, major league career intersected with the 117th big league game appearance of Dustin Garneau’s in a way that neither could have anticipated a week ago.

But they were–pitcher and catcher–making it up as they went, the best way that they knew how–in Oakland of all places.

Except that it wasn’t always apparent they were good at making it up, or going about it the best way. Not against a focused St. Louis lineup, stealing bases, and intent on avoiding a sweep.

Roark needed 95 pitches to get through four innings, 35 of those to end the third scoreless when Marcell Ozuna struck out with the bases loaded.

“Just how we drew it up,” said Roark, tongue in cheek.

The Garneau/Roark act, a trade deadline concoction, if there ever was one, surely had the Coliseum crowd fidgeting. But it was a veteran production, and it was effective. Roark departed after five frames, allowing four hits, in possession of a newly cemented 2-1 lead.

“He didn’t want any part of coming out of that game after four,” said manager Bob Melvin of Roark, who threw 109 pitches and got the win. “He felt great. If I’d have run him out there for the sixth, he’d have been all for it. He was throwing to corners still. Every pitch mattered to him.”

Filled with guts and gile (Melvin called Roark “a bulldog”), the outing was taking advantage of the trade deadline, at its best–a contending club getting an injection of energy at the season’s critical point. For five innings the A’s were in the hands of a pair of capable veterans enthusiastic about winning after spending the beginning of their seasons without winning, or in Garneau’s case, without a regular role.

That the two knew little of each other mattered little. They made it work.

“It’s a dance, pretty much,” said Garneau, picked up off waivers from the Angels as a stopgap until the A’s catching corps regains its health. “The more you can get on tempo, you just kind of let him lead.”

Offensively, the A’s were pesky, getting veteran starter Adam Wainwright off his game to the tune of three drawn walks and two hit batsmen. Those two–Stephen Piscotty and Mark Canha–came around to score the A’s first runs in the fourth, on Garneau’s two-out double.

That was one of only two hard hit balls Wainwright allowed. The other–Jurickson Profar’s home run in the sixth–made it 3-1 A’s and abruptly ended Wainwright’s afternoon.

“That was the key to the game right there,” Wainwright said of Profar’s homer and the two pitches that hit Piscotty and Canha. “I have to execute better pitches there.”

The A’s swept the season series with St. Louis 4-0 with the win, and the Cardinals were knocked out of first place in the NL Central as a result. The A’s kept pace with the Rays who swept Miami, and within striking distance of the Indians, who swept the Angels.

Only the Red Sox were made to suffer in the AL Wild Card chase this weekend. Boston was swept at Yankee Stadium, leaving them 6 1/2 games behind Cleveland, and their postseason aspirations on life support.

The A’s start their week in Chicago with the Cubs on Monday, then after an off day Thursday, take on the White Sox over the weekend. The A’s have won six of seven, but they’ll be pushed on the road trip with top starters Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Lucas Giolito scheduled to face them.

Zheng takes down Sabalenka in straight sets to win first title at Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Cinderella story had a fairy tale ending in the final of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic for Saisai Zheng. Playing in her first Premiere-level final, the Chinese native captured her first single’s title beating Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (7-3) on Sunday afternoon at the San Jose State Tennis Center.

Like she had been doing all week in the tournament to her opponents, Zheng forced Sabalenka to play her style of game and not let Sabalenka be able to use her power and get into a rhythm on the court. Her strategy in playing the no pace, high backhand volleys kept Sabalenka from utilizing her strong forehand volleys against her. Zheng cruised to a 6-3 opening set win.

In the second set, Zheng jumped out to a 2-0 lead and looked to be in control. However, a frustrated Sabalenka (at one point let out a primal scream during the fourth game after one of her many unforced errors) harnessed her emotions in winning the next three games for her only lead of the set.

While Sabalenka was losing her cool (throwing and back kicking her racket on separate occasions), Zheng kept calm throughout the match. She was able to thwart anything Sabalenka threw at her regaining the lead 4-3 the next two games. The set would go back and forth to the tie-breaker where Sabalenka’s unforced errors were too much for her to overcome. A double fault on match point sealed the deal for Zheng and she was able to celebrate her first championship in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd after an hour and 46 minutes.

“Obviously you don’t want to play fast fast fast with her,” said Zheng. “She is the best at that. The tactic for me was to put the ball deep, whenever I see some space let her run and if I can, change the slice or high ball. If I give her the same ball, she will hit a winner from any corner.”

The combination of the many unforced errors and eight double faults put Sabalenka in too deep of a hole she couldn’t climb out of.

“I couldn’t control my emotions,” said the 21 year old Belarusian. “I was screaming some (expletive). I was throwing the rackets.  I knew her game, but I wasn’t ready for that (style of play) much. That was my mistake.”

Zheng not only excelled at being able to counter drop shots and shots from up at the net from Sabalenka, but also had a high first-serve percentage finishing 21/29 for a 72% clip.

Zheng credits having a conversation she had with her best friend in China after coming back from Wimbledon where she hadn’t been winning on the tour. It allowed her to refocus her mind and keep things simple and not have high expectations going into tournaments.

“She said to me, ‘You know when you’re not so emotional, you can use your brain and play your best tennis.’ Then I realized I gave myself too much pressure and too much high expectation. This week, I just enjoyed myself, didn’t think too much and played each point. So I really want to thank her for that,” said Zheng.

Zheng, who takes home $151,070 with her win, also thanked her mother for always being there for her throughout her career and her puppy and is excited to see both as she heads to Toronto to play in the Coupe Rogers tournament.

In the doubles final, the Czech-American combo of Kveta Peschke and Nicole Melichar defeated the Japanese duo of Ena Shibahara Shuko Aoyama in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

For Pesche, this was her second consecutive doubles title at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic (she won it with Latisha Chan last year). Both her and Melichar were excited to win the tournament this time around.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Peschke. “I told Nicki (Melichar) about this tournament already last year. I told her I really loved it and she should come and play in it.”

For the duo, this is already an impressive fourth title together after only playing together over a year and a half ago.

“I am very thrilled,”  said Melichar. “I have the biggest smile on my face. Especially standing next to this lovely lady. To win (with her), it’s just awesome!”

The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic drew a total of 15,454 fans in attendance for the entire week of matches this year.