Islanders Sweep UTRGV, Clinch South Texas Showdown

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Hosting rival UTRGV as part of the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis slugged their way to a pair of victories over the Vaqueros Tuesday night.
 
The Islander men swept UTRGV 7-0 while the women had to rally back after dropping doubles to claim a 5-2 victory. The two wins clinch an Islanders victory in the South Texas Showdown as the Blue and Green now leads 29-19 lead with just nine points left up for grabs this season.
 
The pair of victories also pushed Director of Tennis Steve Moore to 350 career victories as a head coach. In his 11th season at the helm of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi since his return to the Island, Moore has taken the Islanders to 10 Southland titles, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and has had the men's team nationally ranked 10 straight years.
 
MEN SWEEP
 
The men needed a neck-and-neck tiebreaker in the final match of doubles play to start the match 1-0 and seized the momentum from the emotional win.
 
Kevin Bettendroffer and William Mottet opened the afternoon with a 6-4 win at the top doubles spot. It was then UTRGV's turn to level the doubles point with a 7-5 win on court three. That left all eyes turned to Cagatay Soke and Lukas Buth at court two.
 
Soke and Buth trailed 6-5, but forced a tiebreak with a strong game. The Islanders duo finally put the match away at 7-5, clinching a 1-0 lead for the Blue and Green.
 
In singles action, the senior Bettendroffer jumpstarted the Islanders with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Koby Jansen at the top of the order. The veteran was followed shortly after by rookie Gonzalo Achondo at five. Achondo earned a straight-set win with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
 
With a 3-0 lead on the board, sophomore Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas would clinch the victory for the Islanders. Pedrosa Cuevas knocked off Clement Sarradin in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-3. The two sides would play out the remaining matches as the Islanders rallied back in both.
 
Soke fell 2-6 in his first set at number two, but came back with a vengeance to topple Elliot Johnstone. Soke won 7-5 in the second before taking a 11-9 super tiebreak third set. Buth also finished his match in an epic tiebreak, rallying for a 5-7, 7-5, 18-16 victory.
 
WOMEN COMEBACK
 
Across the courts, the women dropped an incredibly tight doubles match. Alexandra Belle and Kerry Galhos raced to a 6-0 victory on court three. The Vaqueros would rally back with a 6-4 win on court two before the top match went into a tiebreak.
 
Jelena Dzinic and Judit Vives forced a tiebreak by rallying to tie the match at 6-6 but eventually fell 8-6 in the tiebreak. That gave the Vaqueros a 1-0 lead, but the Islanders were up to the challenge in singles play.
 
Galhos provided the spark for the rally. The senior rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at number six to level the match right away in singles. The Islanders would claim the lead moments later when Marina Vicens Miquel toppled Chloe Leclere at the fifth spot. Vicens Miquel won by a 6-1, 6-1 score.
 
Freshman Louise Trigona expanded the lead to 3-1 for the Blue and Green with a win at three. After a tight 6-4 first, the Islander cruised to a 6-2 win in the second.
 
The match-clinching point came courtesy of Jelena Dzinic as the junior stood strong at the top spot of the lineup. Dzinic defeated Dominique Esparza 6-4, 6-2 to seal the victory. From there the two sides played out the remaining matches with Judit Vives winning 6-4, 6-4 and Maria Maldonado falling 6-2, 7-5.
 
MOORE'S THOUGHTS
 
On today's matches…
"I have such high expectations and high respect for our teams. We really hold ourselves to a high standard and judge ourselves on the things that we can control rather than wins and losses. I was less than happy with some things today .We had some people not play tough and smart today, not squeeze all the juice out of their orange. That's like a weed in a garden – you better pull it quick or before you know it you have a garden full of weeds. We're going to address those things, get a little tougher and make the full commitment to show up and suffer with our feet. I know we will because we have a lot of high character kids and a lot of pride so you'll see better from us."
 
On the men's performance…
"That was great maturity from the guys today. Playing without senior Paul Cook, the freshman really stepped up. The freshman are growing up quick. They are hardening up and toughening up. What college tennis is really about is who can fight hard all the time every match. Sometimes that goes against human nature, but it's what we ask of them."
 

SOUTHLAND STARTS NEXT

The Islanders will open Southland play on Sunday afternoon on the women's side as the Blue and Green host UIW at 2 p.m. in a match rescheduled from last weekend. The men and women will both play host to Nicholls next Wednesday afternoon in Southland action.