CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis team returned to action on Wednesday and defeated visiting UTSA by a score of 7-0 at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
RELATED: Results (pdf) | Interview/Highlights
"I thought this was an important day for our team," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "The hot, windy, fitness part of the season has started and this is our time. This is what we've been training all year for."
The Islanders (12-6) and Roadrunners (2-14) squared off in San Antonio back on Feb. 10, as the Blue and Green won 4-1.
This time A&M-Corpus Christi went up another level, shutting out UTSA and not giving up a single set in the process.
The Islanders started out by winning the first and second doubles matches to clinch the first points of the day. Kevin Bettendroffer and Arthur Bedel won 6-3, before Ricardo Mayagoitia and Guillaume Rauseo won 6-4 to give the Islanders the early lead.
In singles play, Bettendroffer quickly gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead, winning 6-2, 6-2 at the number one position. Rauseo then made it 3-0 with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win at number four and Javier Pujol clinched the match at the number three position, winning 6-2, 6-2.
Mayagoitia (6-3, 6-4), Bedel (6-4, 6-1) and Paul Cook (7-6 (3), 6-2) also won their singles matches, at two, six and five, respectively, to make it a clean sweep for the Islanders.
A&M-Corpus Christi is now 12-6 overall and has won five of its last seven matches. The Islanders will next head on the road to take on Nicholls, Wednesday, March 30 as the first of four straight Southland Conference contests.
More from Moore
On his team's performance:
"These guys have trained hard. I feel like they've really paid the price and today was an opportunity to come out, move, and use our legs, use our toughness. They did a good job today of the things they can control."
On doubles play:
"The doubles was tricky. I thought UTSA played good doubles. They played really aggressive, but these guys are believing in each other and are willing to try some new things. I thought their energy today was fantastic."
On staying focused:
"I tell them this. You've never permanently arrived anywhere. You have to make the choice as a human to be a pitbull competitor or maybe a corner-cutter. It's a daily choice and I think their choice today was fantastic."
