2015 Southland Conference Tournament
WOMEN'S TENNIS: NO. 5 TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI (13-8, 7-4 SLC) VS. NO. 4 MCNEESE STATE (12-7, 8-3 SLC)
Southland Conference Tournament • Friday, April 24 • 11 a.m. • Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center • Beaumont, Texas
MEN'S TENNIS: NO. 1 TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI (17-6, 5-0 SLC) VS. NO. 4 NICHOLLS (9-9, 2-3 SLC)
Southland Conference Tournament • Saturday, April 25 • 2 p.m. • Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center • Beaumont, Texas
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT BRACKET | MEN'S TOURNAMENT BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | TWITTER
CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis teams will head to Beaumont, Texas to compete in the Southland Conference Tournament, hosted by Lamar. The defending Southland Conference Tournament champions Islanders women's team (13-8, 7-4 SLC) received the No. 5 seed and will open play on Friday, April 24, at 11 a.m. against No. 4 seed McNeese State.
The No. 60 nationally-ranked men's team (17-6, 5-0 SLC) and the defending Southland Conference Tournament champions will open the tournament in the semifinal round on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. against No. 4 seed Nicholls. The Islanders clinched their eighth consecutive Southland Conference regular-season title with a 5-0 record.
The women's team has been strong as of late, winning seven of their last nine conference matches. Juniors Celia Rodriguez andMaider Martin have been positive leaders for the Islanders this season. On Wednesday, the two earned Second Team All-Southland honors in singles play. They each also garnered conference championships in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively.
Rodriguez has been remarkable at No. 3 singles this season, posting a perfect 13-0 record. She has tallied a 9-1 mark in Southland play, including a 9-0 mark in the No. 3 slot. She is currently on a nine-match winning streak and has compiled a 14-3 overall record, for a career mark of 50-7. She has passed former Islander Erika Iriarte's career record in third place all-time and is currently three wins shy of matching Stefania Nicolae's record in second place. In her three years, she has compiled a 25-3 mark in the Southland.
Martin has been outstanding at No. 4 singles this season and will enter the match on a team-high 10-match winning streak. She holds a 17-3 overall mark, including a 10-1 Southland record in the No. 4 slot.
Sophomore Kerry Galhos sits with an 12-8 overall mark, while Chelsea Horan holds a 10-8 record. Sophomore Judit Vives has collected a 2-1 mark at No. 2 singles and freshman Jelena Dzinic holds a 10-7 overall mark, including a 2-1 record in the No. 1 slot.
The Islanders will face McNeese State who comes into the tournament with a 12-7 record. The Cowgirls finished Southland play with an 8-3 mark and are led by Klaudia Gawlik and Julia Kral who were each named to the Southland Conference First Team.
The Islanders and Cowgirls met up in March in Corpus Christi during the regular season and the Islanders came up short, 4-1. Last season, the Islanders topped the Cowgirls, 4-2, in the semifinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament.
The winner will advance to play either No. 1 seed Nicholls or No. 8 seed Southeastern Louisiana in the semifinal round on Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Islanders men's team will open competition on Saturday and are seeking their sixth appearance in the NCAAs in the last eight years and their third consecutive trip. The Islanders, who were ranked as high as No. 40 in the ITA Division I rankings this season, only allowed five points in Southland play this season, for a season record of 26-5. The Islanders have won 18 consecutive regular-season conference matches in four years and in the last eight years the Islanders have registered a 41-2 record in the Southland.
Today, the Islanders were recognized for their accomplishments in the Southland Conference this season. Peter Nagy was named the Southland Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year for the third consecutive year while Director of Tennis Steve Moore earned the Men's Tennis Coach of the Year honor for the ninth straight year. Moore is the first coach in the history of the Southland Conference in any sport to earn the honor nine consecutive years.
The Islanders also placed a total of five players on the all-conference teams for singles play with sophomore Kevin Bettendroffer and junior Ricardo Mayagoitia joining Nagy on the all-conference first team, and juniors Guillaume Rauseo and Javier Pujol earning a spot on the second team. The Islanders also placed a pair of doubles teams on the all-conference teams. The freshman-senior duo of Arthur Bedel and Nagy earned first team honors and the tandem of Bettendroffer and Rauseo garnered second team honors. In addition, A&M - Corpus Christi secured four out of the six conference championships in singles.
No. 101 ranked Nagy, who posted a 5-0 record in No. 1 singles this season dropped just one set in a combined 11 sets in conference play. Overall, Nagy holds a 17-2 record in the No. 1 slot this season and is currently on a five-match winning streak. At No. 2 singles, Bettendroffer is currently on an eight-match winning streak and holds a 13-4 overall mark in the No. 2 slot. He tallied a perfect 5-0 record in the No. 2 spot in conference play and won four out of the five matches in straight sets. Mayagoitia has split time at No. 3 (2-0) and No. 4 (2-0) singles this season and holds a 13-7 dual-match record. He is currently on a three-match winning streak while Pujol enters the match on a two-match win streak. This season he recorded a 4-1 singles record in the No. 5 spot in Southland play and has registered a 10-8 overall record. Also highlighting singles play is Rauseo and sophomore Paul Cook. This season, Rauseo has posted a 10-6 record in dual-match play while Cook holds a 6-5 dual-match record.
In doubles, the freshman-senior duo of Arthur Bedel and Peter Nagy have been solid in the No. 1 slot with a 7-4 record while Rauseo and Bettendroffer have teamed up for an 8-3 mark at No. 2 doubles.
The Islanders will take on Nicholls who concluded the regular season with a 9-9 overall record and a 2-3 record in Southland action. This season, the Islanders swept the Colonels, 4-0, in Corpus Christi.
The winner will face either No. 2 seed Lamar or No. 3 seed New Orleans on Sunday in the championship match at 2 p.m.
Admission is free for all matches and for more information on the tournament click HERE.
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