HOUSTON – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis wrapped up play at the Rice Fall Invitational on Sunday morning, capping a strong three-day performance.
Okkie Kellerman went three sets in the finals of the Owl Draw, but came up just short in a back-and-forth battle with Michael Morphy from UNC Wilmington. Kellerman fell behind early as Morphy claimed a 6-3 opening set, but the Islander fired back with an impressive second-set turnaround, cruising to a 6-1 victory. In the decisive third, it was Morphy who would prevail, picking up a 6-2 win for the victory.
In other results,
William Mottet ended his weekend with a straight-set victory. Playing Andres Torres from UNCW, Mottet earned a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 match on Sunday.
Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas also earned a straight-set win on the final day, defeating Daniel Groom of UNCW. Pedrosa rolled in his match, claiming a 6-1, 6-2 win.
Francois Kellerman suffered a tough, three-set defeat on the final day of action, falling to Eric Wagner of Tulane. Kellerman dropped a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6 thriller.
The Islanders now turn their focus to the Southland Conference Individual Championships, which beging next Friday in New Orleans. Corpus Christi will travel on Wednesday before opening play over the weekend.
MOORE THOUGHTS
On performance this weekend…
"Very proud of the way these guys competed this entire weekend. They had some very strong results, but it's not the results we really focus on, it's maximizing the things we can control. I thought the guys did a great job of controlling the things they can control, especially fighting hard for each point, following their game plans, the spirit and the way they cheered for each other and their body management and discipline. I love the character of these guys and I'm very excited for this upcoming season if these guys make the choice to keep working this hard."
On earning confidence…
"Controlling the things you can control gives you the right to have a sense of earned confidence. Everyone talks about confidence like it's magical, but it's just earned through hard work, sacrifice and discipline. That's what these guys did this weekend. They play with confidence because they've been earning the right to play with confidence. I'm very proud of them and they have to keep earning that right every day."
On the tournament…
"I want to give a shout out to Rice and Coach Efe Ustundag and Bojan Szumanski for putting on this great tournament for the teams in the state of Texas. It is so well run at a great facility with a class act program and class act coaches. We have a lot of gratitude from the Islanders for this great opportunity to compete and improve."
ON TO SOUTHLAND
The Islanders return to action next week at the Southland Conference Championships as they travel to New Orleans on Wednesday.
