NATCHITOCHES, La. – In its final tune-up before opening Southland Conference play, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's tennis team earned its seventh shutout of the season and matched the best start in program history with a 5-0 win over the Air Force Academy Sunday morning.
With the win, the Islanders improve to 9-0 to open the season which matches the start of the 2013 squad as the best at A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders also finished the non-conference portion of the slate undefeated for the first time with wins over teams from the Mountain West, Sun Belt and Conference USA.
DOUBLES DO IT AGAIN
The Islanders have been dominant in doubles play all season long and that trend continued Sunday afternoon as the Blue and Green remained perfect in the doubles point.
Once again, it was the seniors who led the way for the Islanders as Celia Rodriguez and Maider Martin ran their doubles mark to 7-1 on the season. The duo defeated Lily Forlini and Mary Meyers by a 6-2 set to open the doubles action.
Shortly after, the pairing of newcomers clinched the point with a 6-3 win on court No. 3. Hortense Boscher and Alexandra Belle bested their Falcon opponents, Elizabeth Barnickel and Elisa Nelson, to improve to 7-0 on the season.
SENSATIONAL SINGLES
Much like doubles, the Islanders have been nothing but impressive this season in singles play. The Blue and Green won four singles matches Sunday to earn the 5-0 win over Air Force as a pair of matches finished simultaneously.
The sophomore Boscher was the first to earn the Islanders a point in singles, taking the No. 1 matchup over Mary Meyers. Boscher won her match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, improving to 4-1 on the season.
Next to finish was Rodriguez as the senior also notched a straight-set victory. The co-captain moved her singles record to a perfect 9-0 on the season with a 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4.
After the Rodriguez win, the Islanders needed just one point to earn the shutout, but instead got two as both Kerry Galhos and Judit Vives finished their matches at the same time. Galhos officially earned the clinching point, as the junior won 7-6, 6-0 in her match at No. 6. Moments later, Vives defeated Barnickel 6-2, 6-3 to put the final score at 5-0.
SOUTHLAND SHOWDOWN MONDAY
The Islanders now face a big time test in their first Southland match of the season as the Blue and Green face defending Southland champion Northwestern State Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Islanders and Demons have a history of great battles, with Northwestern State claiming last season's matchup 4-3. That matchup came down to the final doubles court as the squads split singles 3-3.
MOORE SAYS
On facing Northwestern State…
"We are going into the lion's den for our first conference match of the year. We've trained hard, we've worked hard and we're ready to fight as hard as we can. The girls are focused on controlling the things they can control. This is always an exciting place to play because it's a team that we have a lot of respect for and always plays with great character. No matter what happens here, the matches have always been played with great respect which makes this a special rivalry. We're very excited tomorrow and our first chance to comepete in the Southland Conference."
