January 24, 2015

Islanders Tennis Rolls Past UMBC in Doubleheaders

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis teams each claimed a pair of victories over Maryland Baltimore Country today in the home openers at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. The women's team improved to 2-1 on the year while the men padded their record to 2-0.

In the first matches of the day, the women picked up a 4-1 victory while the men cruised to a 4-0 sweep. In the second matches of the doubleheader, the women sealed a 5-2 win while the men edged the Retrievers, 4-3.

"We played a very tough team today," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "A team I have a lot of respect for, and a very well coached team. We fought hard, certain players in certain spots. In other spots we have to get tougher, and we have to get better and we will."

The women's team will continue play in the Coastal Bend when they host Texas-Pan American on Tuesday, Feb. 3, while the men will return to action along with the women on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Prairie View.

For all the latest on Islanders Tennis, like the team on Facebook (IslandersTennis) and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersTennis).

WOMEN – MATCH 1: AMCC 4, UMBC 1

The Islanders grabbed a tight doubles point on courts one and three to take an early 1-0 match lead. The junior duo of Celia Rodriguez and Maider Martin teamed up to defeat Shannon Cleary and Madlena Kurasz, 6-3, in No. 1 doubles, before UMBC evened things at 1-1 with a win on No. 2 doubles. Hanna Victorsson and Charlotte Tönjann topped freshman Jelena Dzinic and senior Chelsea Horan, 6-2. The sophomore tandem of Judit Vives and Kerry Galhos then battled Alice Taylor and Laura Ambrozic in No. 3 doubles and squeezed out an intense 7-6 (3) victory to secure the doubles point.

The Islanders carried over their momentum into singles play to win three matches. Vives tacked on the Islanders' second point of the day with a 6-3, 6-2 straight-set win over Kurasz in No. 1 singles. Martin followed close behind with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ambrozic in No. 4 singles. With the Islanders ahead 3-0, UMBC rallied back in a three-setter to capture their first point of the day. Victorsson notched a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Galhos in No. 6 singles, before Dzinic clinched her first match of her Islanders' career in No. 2 singles. The freshman downed Mariami Dolashvili, 6-3, 6-4, to earn the Islanders the 4-1 win.

In the other two singles matches, Horan was leading Isabel Aldunate in the third set, 4-1. The senior won the first set 6-0 before dropping the second set 6-2 in No. 5 singles. Rodriguez was headed into her third set in No. 3 singles with Taylor when the match was clinched. The junior lost her first set 6-3 before securing the second set, 6-4.

With the win, the Islanders improved to 1-1 on the year, while the Retrievers also moved to 1-1 on the year.

Women's Tennis Match Results—Match 1

Maryland Baltimore County vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

1/24/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 4, Maryland Baltimore County 1

Singles competition

1. Judit Vives (AMCC) def. Madlena Kurasz (UMBC) 6-3, 6-2

2. Jelena Dzinic (AMCC) def. Mariami Dolashvili (UMBC) 6-3, 6-4

3. Celia Rodriguez (AMCC) vs. Alice Taylor (UMBC) 3-6, 6-4, unfinished

4. Maider Martin (AMCC) def. Laura Ambrozic (UMBC) 6-2, 6-4

5. Chelsea Horan (AMCC) vs. Isabel Aldunate (UMBC) 6-0, 2-6, 4-1, unfinished

6. Hanna Victorsson (UMBC) def. Kerry Galhos (AMCC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Celia Rodriguez/Maider Martin (AMCC) def. Shannon Cleary/Madlena Kurasz (UMBC) 6-3

2. Hanna Victorsson/Charlotte Tönjann (UMBC) def. Jelena Dzinic/Chelsea Horan (AMCC) 6-2

3. Judit Vives/Kerry Galhos (AMCC) def. Alice Taylor/Laura Ambrozic (UMBC) 7-6 (7-3)

Match Notes:

Maryland Baltimore County 1-1

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 1-1

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,6,2)

WOMEN – MATCH 2: AMCC 5, UMBC 2

The Islanders came out on fire in doubles to pick up the doubles point on courts one and two. The duo of Horan and Dzinic wasted no time, breezing to a 6-0 sweep over Kurasz and Cleary in No. 2 doubles. Rodriguez and Martin followed with a 6-4 win over Victorsson and Tönjann in No. 1 doubles to clinch the point and improve to 2-1 on the year. In the final doubles match, Vives and Galhos were trailing Dolashvili and Aldunate in No. 3 doubles, 4-2, when the point was determined.

The Retrievers quickly evened the match at 1-1 after Victorsson notched a 6-0, 6-2 win over Horan in No. 5 singles. Rodriguez and Dzinic answered though with straight-set wins on courts two and three to put the Islanders in front 3-1. Rodriguez topped Ambrozic, 6-1, 6-3, in No. 3 singles for her first win this season. Dzinic then tacked on the Islanders' third point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kurasz in No. 2 singles, to improve to 2-0.

UMBC then pulled within one after claiming a three-set win in No. 6 singles. Galhos dropped the first set, 6-3, before bouncing back to tally a 6-3 second-set win. In the third, Cleary topped the sophomore, 6-4 to give the Retrievers their second point of the day.

The Islanders however wouldn't allow UMBC any more points after that as Vives clinched the match in No. 1 singles and Martin gave the Islanders their fifth and final point of the day in No. 4 singles. Vives sealed a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 thriller over Dolashvili, while Martin also notched a three-setter. The junior topped Aldunate, 6-1 in the first, before dropping a close 7-6 (2) second set. In the third, with the crowd cheering her on, Martin garnered the 6-2 win.

The Islanders improved their record to 2-1, while UMBC dropped to 1-2 on the year.

Women's Tennis Match Results—Match 2

Maryland Baltimore County vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

1/24/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 5, Maryland Baltimore County 2

Singles competition

1. Judit Vives (AMCC) def. Mariami Dolashvili (UMBC) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

2. Jelena Dzinic (AMCC) def. Madlena Kurasz (UMBC) 6-1, 6-2

3. Celia Rodriguez (AMCC) def. Laura Ambrozic (UMBC) 6-1, 6-3

4. Maider Martin (AMCC) def. Isabel Aldunate (UMBC) 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2

5. Hanna Victorsson (UMBC) def. Chelsea Horan (AMCC) 6-0, 6-2

6. Shannon Cleary (UMBC) def. Kerry Galhos (AMCC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. Celia Rodriguez/Maider Martin (AMCC) def. Hanna Victorsson/Charlotte Tönjann (UMBC) 6-4

2. Jelena Dzinic/Chelsea Horan (AMCC) def. Madlena Kurasz/Shannon Cleary (UMBC) 6-0

3. Judit Vives/Kerry Galhos (AMCC) vs. Mariami Dolashvili/Isabel Aldunate (UMBC) 2-4, unfinished

Match Notes:

Maryland Baltimore County 1-2

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 2-1

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,3,2,6,1,4)

MEN – MATCH 1: AMCC 4, UMBC 0

In their first dual match of the season the Islanders men's team blanked UMBC 4-0 after securing the doubles point and three singles wins. The sophomore duo of Kevin Bettendroffer and Paul Cook downed Jaan Kononov and Melker Svärd, 6-2, in No. 2 doubles, before the Retrievers knotted things up at 1-1 with a win in No. 3 doubles. Eliott Loubatié and Kamal Patel defeated juniors Ricardo Mayagoitia and Javier Pujol, 6-3. The Islanders then earned the doubles point after senior Peter Nagy and junior Guillaume Rauseo cruised to a 6-3 win over Daniel Gray and Alex Drean, 6-3 in No. 1 doubles.

The Islanders kept things rolling into singles play with wins on courts six, two, and four. P. Cook started things off with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gray in No. 6 singles for the Islanders' second point of the day. Bettendroffer then followed with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win over Justin Lansinger in No. 2 singles, before Rauseo clinched the match in No. 4 singles. The junior tallied a 6-4 first-set win, before falling 6-1 in the second. In the third, Rauseo powered through to a 6-1 win to secure the match.

In the other three matches, Nagy was leading Kononov, 4-3, in the second in No. 1 singles, after squeezing out a 7-6 (5) first-set win. P. Cook was also leading the second set, 6-2, over Gray in No. 6 singles after winning the first set 6-3. Pujol was tied with Loubatié in the second set, 3-3, in No. 5 singles after grabbing a close 7-6 (11) first-set tiebreaker.

Men's Tennis Match Results—Match 1

Maryland Baltimore County vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

1/24/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 4, Maryland Baltimore County 0

Singles competition

1. Peter Nagy (AMCC) vs. Jaan Kononov (UMBC) 7-6 (7-5), 4-3, unfinished

2. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) def. Justin Lansinger (UMBC) 6-3, 6-3

3. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) vs. Melker Svärd (UMBC) 7-5, 3-6, 1-1, unfinished

4. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) def. Alex Drean (UMBC) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1

5. Javier Pujol (AMCC) vs. Eliott Loubatié (UMBC) 7-6 (13-11), 3-3, unfinished

6. Paul Cook (AMCC) def. Daniel Gray (UMBC) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Peter Nagy/Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) def. Daniel Gray/Alex Drean (UMBC) 6-3

2. Kevin Bettendroffer/Paul Cook (AMCC) def. Jaan Kononov/Melker Svärd (UMBC) 6-2

3. Eliott Loubatié/Kamal Patel (UMBC) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia/Javier Pujol (AMCC) 6-3

Match Notes:

Maryland Baltimore County 1-1

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 1-0

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,2,4)

MEN – MATCH 2: AMCC 4, UMBC 3

The second match of the day was a close battle between the Islanders and Retrievers. The Islanders registered the doubles point before recording three singles wins on courts one, three and five to garner the win.

In doubles play, Mayagoitia and Pujol bounced back to win 6-1 over Loubatié and Patel in No. 3 doubles, after falling in the first match of the day. The Islanders then wasted no time in earning the point with a 6-2 win in No. 1 doubles. The duo of Nagy and Rauseo claimed their second doubles win of the day. This time it was over Kononov and Svärd who played No. 2 doubles in the first match. P. Cook and Bettendroffer were even with Drean and Gray, 3-3, in No. 2 doubles when the point was determined.

Nagy, the reigning two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year, started singles off strong with a 6-1, 6-2, win over Kononov in No. 1 singles to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. However, the Retrievers picked up their first point of the day with a win in No. 2 singles to trim the Islanders' lead to one. Bettendroffer dropped a straight-set loss to Svärd, 7-5, 6-2. Mayagoitia then followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Carter in No. 3 singles to tack on the Islanders' third point of the match. The final three singles matches came down to three-setters, with UMBC registering two out of the three wins. Rauseo dropped a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 loss to Drean in No. 4 singles, before Pujol fought off Loubatié in No. 5 singles. The junior tallied a 6-1 win in the first set before falling 7-5 in the second set. In the third, Pujol breezed to a 6-1 win to clinch the match.

P. Cook was headed into a third set when the match was clinched and eventually fell 10-2 in the third to Patel in No. 6 singles. The sophomore sealed a tight 7-6 (2) win in the first set before falling 7-5 in the second to force a third set.

The Islanders improved to 2-0 with the win, while UMBC drops to 1-2 on the year.

Men's Tennis Match Results—Match 2

Maryland Baltimore County vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

1/24/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 4, Maryland Baltimore County 3

Singles competition

1. Peter Nagy (AMCC) def. Jaan Kononov (UMBC) 6-1, 6-2

2. Melker Svärd (UMBC) def. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) 7-5, 6-2

3. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) def. Justin Carter (UMBC) 6-4, 6-2

4. Alex Drean (UMBC) def. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1

5. Javier Pujol (AMCC) def. Eliott Loubatié (UMBC) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2

6. Kamal Patel (UMBC) def. Paul Cook (AMCC) 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 10-2