Championship Journeys Underway as Practices Begins for Islanders Tennis Programs

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Practice is underway at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis programs, who have combined for 30 Southland Conference Championships including five in the last two seasons.
 
The men, who have won back-to-back SLC regular season titles, are training for their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. The women are going for their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth in school history.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis are among the most successful sports in the 60-year history of the Southland Conference. On the men's side, the program's 21 SLC championships are the second-most in the history of the league in any sport, only behind Lamar men's golf which has won 24.
 
"I love what I see so far from these teams. These Islanders are talented, but what we love most is their character! They are working incredibly hard and have bought in to team values immediately. We talk a lot about the top pros and how they are certainly talented, but it's their character, work ethic, discipline and mental toughness that separate them from pack. I love the heart and commitment from this team. The key to our season is maxing out these things we can control – being family, having each others backs, out working people, toughness in adversity, 'ADL' Athletic, Discipline Lifestyle and competing like 'PPW' Present Point Warriors! If we max out these things that we can control, then this can be a great, great season," said head coach Steve Moore.
 
The men bring back their top three singles players from last season in seniors Pascal Lorieul, Nathan Schwartz and Matthieu Peres. All three earned All-Conference honors last season. The Islanders also bring back a senior starter in Ulysse Bertrand.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi signed a trio of newcomers in Arkansas transfer Avery Zavala and freshmen Tomas Quesada Perez and Lucas Schurdevin. All three tallied UTR rankings of at least 11.9.
 
The women, who finished top-10 in the final 2022 Texas Region rankings, return three starters including No. 1 singles player Emma Aucagne, the reigning SLC Player and Student-Athlete of the Year. She's joined by returning All-Conference selections Victoire Delattre and Kateryna Rublevska.
 
The Islanders revamped their lineup with five newcomers. It included a pair of junior college national champions in doubles in Valeria Cherfus and Naomi Moi McKenzie, and a trio of freshmen in Anais Brion, Sofia Pinto and Palina Saulevich. All five newcomers notched UTR's of 9.0 or better.
 
The season begins Sept. 9-11 when A&M-Corpus Christi hosts the 19th Annual Islander Open, presented by Bobby Nichols. On Oct. 21-23, A&M-Corpus Christi will host another Islander Open, presented by Cooper Outdoor Advertising.
 
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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