CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Between Friday and Saturday, Islanders men's tennis competed in the ULL Invitational in Lafayette. The men conclude the tournament with a sweep, going 3-0 on the weekend (4-3, 4-2, 4-3). Extending their current win streak to eleven matches, the Islanders improve to 11-1, capturing the best start to a season in the school's history.
"I'm just really proud of the character and fight of these Islanders," said Coach Steve Moore. "Every match this weekend was a fitness dog fight between equal teams. Our guys just refused to quit, pushing each other and fighting as hard as you can ask a team to fight. Every single person made a big contribution this weekend and was very important. The women's team cheered with all their hearts, even after a heartbreaking loss on Thursday. That's what team and character is all about."
"I always define a team by the spirit of their bench," Moore continued. "What contribution do the people who are not playing make? This was as good of an effort and as much spirit as I've ever seen in my 24 years of coaching. They really create an electric atmosphere. Louisiana Lafayette has a great team this year, so this was a big win for us. But, there's no time to rest or celebrate. We have another tenacious dogfight match on the road at one of the toughest places to play – UTRGV. We'll enjoy this on the ride home, and get ready to chop wood again tomorrow. Go Islanders!"
FINAL STATS
MATCH ONE: TAMUCC vs. ECU
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, East Carolina 3
Singles:
1. Francois Kellerman (AMCC) def. Anghel,Vlad (ECU) 7-5, 6-1
2. William Mottet (AMCC) def. McGeehan,Freddie (ECU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-4
3. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) def. Georgi,Ronny (ECU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Countee,Kassy (ECU) def. Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
5. Jonker,Wisse (ECU) def. Okkie Kellerman (AMCC) 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-2)
6. Renones,Javier (ECU) def. Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles:
1. Francois Kellerman/Okkie Kellerman (AMCC) def. Anghel,Vlad/McGeehan,Freddie (ECU) 7-6 (7-5)
2. William Mottet/Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) def. Countee,Kassy/Georgi,Ronny (ECU) 6-3
3. Renones,Javier/Jonker,Wisse (ECU) def. Kyohei Yamanaka/Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) 6-1
MATCH TWO: TAMUCC vs. TTU
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Tennessee Tech 2
Singles:
1. MENA, Eduardo (TTU) def. Francois Kellerman (AMCC) 7-5, 6-1
2. ALBIN, Wenceslao (TTU) def. William Mottet (AMCC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) def. MILA, Marc (TTU) 6-1, 7-5
4. Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) def. GARCIA, Gonzalo (TTU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Okkie Kellerman (AMCC) def. KUBOTA, Riku (TTU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
6. Biyik Akinshemoyin (AMCC) def. JUSTO, Arthur (TTU) 6-3, 6-3
MATCH THREE: TAMUCC vs. ULL
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Louisiana 3
Singles: Order of Finish – (5,1,2,4,3,6)
1. William Mottet (AMCC) def. Kramarov,Vlad (LA) 6-4, 6-2
2. Francois Kellerman (AMCC) def. Libaud,Arthur (LA) 6-4, 6-3
3. Sojka,Nico (LA) def. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
4. Lago,Elio (LA) def. Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) 6-2, 7-6
5. Biyik Akinshemoyin (AMCC) def. Koenig,Dominik (LA) 6-4, 6-3
6. Fraser,Jamie (LA) def. Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
Doubles: Order of Finish – (3,2,1)
1. Francois Kellerman/Okkie Kellerman (AMCC) def. Lago,Elio/Kramarov,Vlad (LA) 6-3
2. Thomas Rodrigues/William Mottet (AMCC) def. Sojka,Nico/Gilheany,Pierce (LA) 6-3
3. Libaud,Arthur/Fraser,Jamie (LA) def. Carlos Pedrosa/Daiki Tanabe (AMCC) 6-1
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Islanders men remain on the road, traveling to Edinburg on Tuesday for the South Texas Showdown with UTRGV. The match is set to start at 2 PM. Looking to ride the momentum from this weekend, they look to expand on the best start in school history with a victory over the Vaqueros.
