CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi women's tennis team fell to Stephen F. Austin today, 4-1, to open Southland Conference play at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. The Ladyjacks (6-4, 1-0 SLC) picked up the doubles point and garnered three singles wins to earn their first conference win of the season.
"Give credit to Stephen F. Austin they deserved to win today," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "We got outfought and out-coached on our home-court today. That is a very hard reality to swallow. We serve truth-burgers and not sensibility-burgers on this team so that reality is what it is. You can't expect a team to max out if you don't deal with reality and acknowledge the truth of what happened.
"We lost a heartbreaking doubles point where we squandered numerous match points and didn't bounce back with the type of courage we normally do, and as the head coach I'm ultimately responsible for that."
The women's team (6-5, 0-1 SLC) fell behind early after coming up short in doubles play. The Islanders picked up the first doubles match today as freshman Jelena Dzinic and senior Chelsea Horan teamed up for an 8-1 win over Denise Maxl and Macarena Acosta in No. 2 doubles for their fifth win this season. The sophomore pair of Judit Vives and Kerry Galhos were then edged out by Vivienne Kulicke and Valeria Terentyeva, 8-6, in No. 3 doubles. The deciding point then came down to No. 1 doubles where juniors Celia Rodriguez and Maider Martin dropped a nail-biter to Malena Gordo and Dhanielly Quevedo, 8-7 (2).
The Islanders quickly evened the score at 1-1 after Horan took care of business with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Julia Lorca in No. 6 singles. However, the Ladyjacks went on to win three straight singles matches to garner the win. Rodriguez fell 6-2, 6-2 to Maxl at No. 2 singles before Galhos dropped a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Terentyeva in the No. 5 slot. SFA then picked up the win after Martin fell short to Quevedo in a three-setter. The junior recorded a 6-2 first-set win before falling 6-4 in the second set and 6-2 in the third.
"The good news is that I remain a strong believer in this team's character and I believe you will see exceptional spirit and fight from this point forward from our captains and every single girl on this team," Moore added. "This team has exceptionally high expectations and anything less than that is simply not acceptable."
The women's team will return to action tomorrow against Northwestern State (5-6, 2-0 SLC) in a rematch of last season's Southland Conference Tournament finals. The Lady Demons are coming off a 5-2 win over Incarnate Word today. Doubles play is slated for 10 a.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
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Women's Tennis Match Results
Stephen F. Austin vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
3/14/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas
Stephen F. Austin 4, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 1
Singles competition
1. Judit Vives (AMCC) vs. Malena Gordo (SFA) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0, unfinished
2. Denise Maxl (SFA) def. Celia Rodriguez (AMCC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Jelena Dzinic (AMCC) vs. Vivienne Kulicke (SFA) 6-3, 5-6, unfinished
4. Dhanielly Quevedo (SFA) def. Maider Martin (AMCC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Valeria Terentyeva (SFA) def. Kerry Galhos (AMCC) 6-3, 6-4
6. Chelsea Horan (AMCC) def. Julia Lorca (SFA) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Malena Gordo/Dhanielly Quevedo (SFA) def. Celia Rodriguez/Maider Martin (AMCC) 8-7 (7-2)
2. Jelena Dzinic/Chelsea Horan (AMCC) def. Denise Maxl/Macarena Acosta (SFA) 8-1
3. Vivienne Kulicke/Valeria Terentyeva (SFA) def. Judit Vives/Kerry Galhos (AMCC) 8-6
Match Notes:
Stephen F. Austin 6-4, 1-0 SLC
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 6-5, 0-1 SLC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,2,5,4)
