Tennis Dominates Islander Open II Winning Every Flight

Final Brackets

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Going up against UTEP, UTSA, Lamar and UT Arlington, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis programs won all eight flights of the Islander Open II, presented by Cooper Outdoor Advertising over the weekend at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
 
Flight winners included Avery Zavala (Men's Singles Flight A), Ulysse Bertrand (Men's Singles Flight B), Pascal Lorieul/Nathan Schwartz (Men's Doubles Flight A), Naomi Moi McKenzie (Women's Singles Flight A), Valeria Cherfus (Women's Singles Flight B), Kateryna Rublevska (Women's Singles Flight C), Naomi Moi McKenzie/Valeria Cherfus (Women's Doubles Flight A) and Emma Aucagne/Palina Saulevich (Women's Doubles Flight B).
 
"We are super proud of these high character Islanders. They competed super hard this weekend and are improving so much because they are committed to doing the right things on the court. They are getting better every week and several players had really broken through with understanding the style they need to play," said head coach Steve Moore.
 
In the top flight of men's singles, Zavala did not drop a set over three matches. He ousted UT Arlington's Anton Shepp in the finals 6-4, 6-1. It was nearly the same in the top singles bracket where McKenzie topped Lamar's Noelia Lorca by the identical score 6-4, 6-1 in the championship.
 
"We did amazing as a team, but I felt Avery and Naomi stood out. They really understood how to play smart, aggressive within their styles and competed incredibly hard. We love the direction this team is moving," Moore said.
 
McKenzie and Cherfus both won two titles. Cherfus didn't drop a set in Flight B singles over three matches, and the duo defeated Lamar 8-3 in the finals of Flight A doubles.
 
In Flight C singles, Rublevska cruised through three matches and breezed past Lamar's Margarita Roshka 6-1, 6-0 in the finals. The women capped it off with a title by Aucagne/Saulevich in Flight B doubles as the team went 3-0.
 
Back on the men's side, in addition to Zavala the Islanders saw Bertrand claim a singles title in Flight B after winning straight-set matches. A&M-Corpus Christi topped it off with a Flight B doubles title from Lorieul and Schwartz.
 
"We are incredibly grateful to Cooper Outdoor Advertising for making this event possible and some top notch teams for coming to Corpus Christi," Moore said.
 
Both the men and women will close out the fall next weekend when the men travel to Rice and the women to UIW.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 14 NCAA Tournaments
- 30 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 37 Straight Semesters
- Islanders have received a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Tournament three times
- Women's tennis has cracked the ITA top-75 national rankings three times
- Men's tennis has cracked the ITA national rankings 10 consecutive years
- Ranked nationally in NCAA DI as high as No. 35 for the men and No. 60 for the women
 
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