South Texas Showdown Sweep

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Aiming to retake the lead in the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi did exactly that with impressive 6-1 wins for both the men's and women's teams at UTRGV Wednesday afternoon.
 
The win took the men to 3-0 on the season and the women to 2-0 in the second day of action for the Islanders. It also put A&M-Corpus Christi back into the lead in the South Texas Showdown, now with 19 points to UTRGV's 17 in the season series.
 
MEN TRIUMPH
 
In a nailbiter of a doubles point, the Islanders managed to take the opening point of the match thanks to wins on courts one and three. Mitchell Cook and Maximilian Ilic paired together for a quick 6-1 win on court three. From there, it was a barnburner as UTRGV leveled with a 7-6 win on court two. A&M-Corpus Christi snagged the 1-0 lead with a 7-6 victory of their own, as Frenchmen Kevin Bettendroffer and William Mottet pulled out a tight victory.
 
Freshman William Mottet set the tone in singles action as he rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 win at the third spot in the order. Mottet's victory staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead.
 
Senior Paul Cook would grow the lead to 3-0 with a straight set victory of his own. Cook blew past Mateo Schmit 6-0, 6-2 in the second spot of the order.
 
Needing just a point to clinch, it was senior and number one Bettendroffer who would have the honors. In his first singles match of the young year, Bettendroffer won in three by a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 score. Following the clinch, the two sides played out the remaining matches with a 10-point super tiebreak third set.
 
Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas grabbed a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the five slot while Lukas Buth won in 6-1, 6-1 fashion in the sixth spot. Freshman Gonzalo Achondo dropped a heartbreaker 1-6, 6-3, 10-6 in the super tiebreak.
 
WOMEN ROLL
 
The Islanders raced out to a 1-0 lead in doubles action thanks to dominating performances on courts two and three. Louise Trigona and Marina Vicens Miquel started the day off with a 6-2 win at the second doubles spot. The French connection of Hortense Boscher and Alexandra Belle followed with a solid 6-3 victory to clinch the point.
 
In singles play, the top of the Islanders' order did the damage as the top two spots set the course for the rest of the match.
 
Boscher, playing her first match of the season, rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Dominique Esparza. Boscher's win set the tone for a blowout win in the South Texas Showdown.
 
Judit Vives followed shortly after Boscher, giving the Islanders a 3-0 advantage. Vives won in straight sets by identical 6-4 scores. Her victory set up Vicens Miquel to clinch the match at number five.
 
After UTRGV grabbed a point on court three, Vicens Miquel iced the victory with a 6-3, 6-0 win at five.
 
With the victory in hand, the two teams played out the remainder of the singles matches where Kerry Galhos and Maria Maldonado would each earn wins to make the final score 6-1. Galhos posted a strong 6-2, 6-1 win in her first action of the season while Maldonado closed the night with a three-set victory, rayyling from a 2-6 first to win 6-1, 7-5.

MOORE'S THOUGHTS

"This was a tough battle today on the road - much closer than the score," said Director of Tennis Steve Moore. "I thought our young players really battled hard and competed with great energy and our senior leaders were very strong. Overall, we had great team spirit and fight today. I love the character and chemistry of this group.

"UTRGV went to the NCAA's last year and competed very hard with a lot of pride. I give them credit because they pushed us hard, and again, today was much closer than the score. We have a lot to work on and a lot to get better on, so we must keep an extremely tough mindset and max out every day! We are young with 4 freshmen men and 2 freshmen women in the top 6, so we have to keep learning with a sense of extra focus and urgency, keep maxing out the things we can control, and be totally committed to excellence in every facet of the program. I thought we improved today."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
The women will travel to Houston on Saturday to face the Cougars while the men return to action February 8th at UTSA.