Islanders Survive, Squelch Upset Bid

BEAUMONT, Texas – On the opening day of the Southland Conference Tournament, the top-seeded Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got all they could handle from eighth-seeded Stephen F. Austin, but dug deep and found an answer to advance to the semifinals with a 4-2 victory Friday afternoon.
 
"Welcome to the Southland Conference Tournament," said Director of Tennis Steve Moore. "Everyone is coming to battle as hard as they humanly can. Huge credit and respect to Stephen F. Austin, they brought it and played as intense and tough as you could ask a team to play.
 
"I have a lot of respect for our girls and the way they took those punches, kept standing and finally grinded it out at the end," continued Moore. "We fought against ourselves more than we should so we have to be tougher and smarter tomorrow."
 
On a hot and muggy afternoon, the Ladyjacks, jumped out to an early lead by claiming the doubles point in the match. SFA claimed victories at number two and three in double play, both by 7-5 scores.
 
After establishing early leads in doubles play, the Islanders could not hold off the charge from the Ladyjacks. Jelena Dzinic and Judit Vives fell behind 4-1 before rallying for the Islanders' only victory in doubles, a 6-4 decision.
 
That put the pressure on as the match moved into singles action.
 
After nail-biting opening sets, SFA appeared poised to pull the upset midway through the second set. The Islanders, however, had been in this same spot before. The Blue and Green grinded their way back, slowly but surely, fighting off the pesky 'Jacks for the victory.
 
Maria Maldonado was first to break a match for the Islanders. The freshman and First Team All-Southland selection controlled her match, taking down Sian Payne 6-2, 6-3 at the number five spot.
 
Veteran number one Hortense Boscher followed shortly thereafter. The junior toppled Denise Maxl by identical 6-3, 6-3 sets. The Islanders' leader gave Corpus Christi the lead for the first time on the day and despite the outlook at numerous times, the Blue and Green never trailed again.
 
The Islanders made it three consecutive points in quick succession as Judit Vives won in straight sets at number four. Vives stormed to a 6-1 opening set before running into trouble in the second. The senior fell behind 5-2 to Liza Aginskaya as she looked bound for a third set. Vives, however, had other ideas, running off five-consecutive games to win the match.
 
That left the Islanders hunting for a single point with all three remaining matches in the third set.
 
SFA struck for its second point at the number three spot. Freshman Louise Trigona rallied back after a -2 first set loss to even her match with a 6-4 second, but the Islander fell just short. Darinka Tiboldi claimed the match with a 6-4 third.
 
Just moments after, Marina Vicens Miquel would clinch the match with a three-set win of her own, allowing the Islanders to finally exhale. The sophomore navigated the regular season undefeated in Southland play and made sure that mark remained intact by winning the final five games of her match.
 
After trading 6-4 sets, Vicens Miquel found herself down 2-1 in the third. The Islander poured on the steam, gathered momentum and stormed to a 6-2 victory to ice the match.

 

MOORE THOUGHTS

On adjustments heading into Saturday…
"We've got to be tougher and a little meaner tomorrow. This is a group of champions with a mindset of champions that have trained like champions. I believe in them in a big, big way and I think you'll really see them rise tomorrow."
 
On semifinal matchup and tournament play…
"Everyone can beat you. This is a great conference and this is the highest level I've ever seen in this conference. We have to play every point with intensity and control the things we can control. We have huge respect for New Orleans and their team, it was a 4-3 match when we played them down there. We have to compete with an A+ effort, anything less will get you beat in this tournament. I believe in this team, they will be ready for it."

 

SEMIFINAL SATURDAY

 
The Islanders will face another stern test on Saturday as they take on New Orleans in the semifinals. The Islanders defeated the Privateers 4-3 in their regular season meeting. New Orleans advanced to the semifinals with a 4-3 win over McNeese on Friday.

The Corpus Christi men will also join in on the action, opening their Southland Tournament with a semifinal contest against Nicholls at 10 a.m.