CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis teams each picked up Southland Conference victories over visiting New Orleans by identical 6-1 scores.
The women improved to 12-0 on the season and now sit 3-0 in Southland action. Meanwhile, the men opened their Southland Conference Championship defense with a solid victory, looking to make it nine-straight seasons as the regular season champ.
WOMEN DOWN ANOTHER UNDEFEATED
For the second time in as many days, the Islander women toppled another undefeated Southland team. Less than 24 hours after knocking Southeastern Louisiana from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Islanders handed New Orleans (8-2, 4-1) its first loss in Southland play.
The Islanders took the doubles point as Celia Rodriguez and Maider Martin clawed out a 6-4 win. The victory sealed the doubles point as New Orleans defaulted at No. 3 doubles due to injury.
The Blue and Green would lead 2-0 after doubles as the Privateers were again forced to default, surrendering a point at the No. 6 slot. Martin would make it 3-0 in favor of the Islanders as the senior sealed yet another straight-set win. In her usual fifth spot in the order, Martin rallied back from a 4-3 first-set deficit to win 6-4, 6-2.
Jelena Dzinic clinched the match for A&M-Corpus Christi with her win at No. 2. Dzinic rolled in the first set against Soledad Calderon, 6-1, but would face a dogfight in the second. The Islander pulled out a 7-5 win in the second set to ensure the Blue and Green's 12th-straight victory to open the season.
Rounding out the final singles matches, Rodriguez picked up another win at No. 4. The senior rolled off her 12th win of the season to stay perfect in singles action. Rodriguez is now just one win shy of tying the all-time record for career singles wins.
Judit Vives rallied from a first-set setback to win at No. 3. The junior rolled off a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, victory to lend the Islanders their sixth and final point of the match.
MEN START TITLE DEFENSE
The Islanders (11-6, 1-0) men's team opened the 2016 Southland Conference slate with a 6-1 victory of its own over the Privateers.
Both Islander doubles pairings picked up 6-2 wins as they finished at nearly identical times. Seniors Ricardo Mayagoitia and Guillaume Rauseo were the first to finish at No. 2 and officially clinched the point after New Orleans defaulted on court three. Shortly after, Kevin Bettendroffer and Arthur Bedel finished at 6-2 as well.
Rauseo would make the Islander lead 3-0 in short order during singles play. Rauseo raced to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 to pick up his second consecutive win. His doubles partner, Mayagoitia, would also pick up a straight set victory. Mayagoitia knocked of Giacomo Adonecchi 6-2, 6-3 to improve to 12-1 on the season.
Both Bettendroffer and Javier Pujol would add singles wins to close out the Islanders' scoring on the day. Bettendroffer ran his record to 13-1 in singles action with a 6-3, 6-3, victory atop the Blue and Green order. Pujol, meanwhile, cruised in the first set then rallied in the second to pick up a 6-1, 6-4 win.
MOORE THOUGHTS
On the men's SLC opening win…
"I though our guys really came out today and made the choice to have the right mental attitude and really control the things they could control. I thought the footwork, attitude and energy were terrific at the very beginning and allowed us to set the tone. This is now definitively a different season. This is the hot and windy portion of the season, which tests fitness and mental toughness. I really like these guys over the next two months."
On the women taking down another undefeated…
"This was a dangerous match and a battle of two undefeated teams. I honestly thought that we needed to bring more energy in the beginning. We dug ourselves out of some holes and that shows character, but it's important to learn not to dig those holes. Our energy is something we can control so I expect better from these girls. They've had a fantastic year so far, but the next two months will be determined by the ability to bring sustained energy from start to finish with no mental lapses. This is a lot to ask, but it's what we all signed up for and our standards are very high."
