DALLAS – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi women's tennis team opened Southland Conference play with a 5-2 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The two teams agreed to meet at a neutral site in Dallas for the league opener.
The Islanders improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Southland play with the win over the Bears. UCA moved to 1-2 on the season, and is now 0-1 in league play.
Before the match, the two teams agreed to play singles first, with Doris Kuselj and Sandra Burges leading the way for the Islanders. Kuselj won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles while Burges also played to a 6-1, 6-1 final at No. 4 singles to put their team up 2-0.
Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and UCA split a pair of 6-3, 6-2 match, with Chelsea Horan winning at No. 5 singles, and Mia Matuszak falling by the same score at the No. 6 position.
The final two singles matches came down to three sets, with Mirna Cicak taking a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 final at No. 1 to clinch the match for the Islanders. Stefania Nicolae lost the third set in a super tiebreaker at 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-7 at No. 3 singles to finish singles play.
In doubles, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi put on a dominant performance against the Bears, taking all three matches for the doubles sweep and a 5-2 final match score. At the No. 1 position, Cicak and Kuselj won an 8-3 final, while Nicolae and Matuszak also won 8-3 at the No. 2 spot. No. 3 doubles was rounded out by Horan and Burges putting up an 8-2 win to complete the match.
Next up for the Islanders will be a doubleheader against St. Mary's (TX) on Feb. 10, at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. The twin bill is slated to start at 1 p.m. in Corpus Christi.
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Texas A&M - Corpus Christi vs Central Arkansas
02/4/2012 at Dallas, Texas
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 5, Central Arkansas 2
Singles competition:
1. Mirna Cicak (AMCC) def. Horsikyan, Simona (UCA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Doris Kuselj (AMCC) def. Horsikyan, Kristina (UCA) 6-1, 6-1
3. Murphy, Allison (UCA) def. Stefania Nicolae (AMCC) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-7
4. Sandra Burges (AMCC) def. Hartman, Allison (UCA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Chelsea Horan (AMCC) def. Ruocco, Sasha (UCA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Otani, Kazumi (UCA) def. Mia Matuszak (AMCC) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition:
1. Mirna Cicak/Doris Kuselj (AMCC) def. Hartman, Allison/Murphy, Allison (UCA) 8-3
2. Stefania Nicolae/Mia Matuszak (AMCC) def. Horsikyan, Simona/Otani, Kazumi (UCA) 8-3
3. Chelsea Horan/Sandra Burges (AMCC) def. Horsikyan, Kristina/Ruocco, Sasha (UCA) 8-2
Match Notes:
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 2-1, 1-0 Southland
Central Arkansas 1-2, 0-1 Southland
