LAS CRUCES, N.M. – It came down to the final court for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's tennis program on Tuesday as it battled back for a 4-3 victory over New Mexico State in a matchup between a pair of 2022 NCAA Tournament teams.
A&M-Corpus Christi, which is off to a 3-0 start for the fifth consecutive year, dropped the doubles point when it hunkered down to win four singles matches. The victory included 2-0 days from junior
Emma Aucagne and freshman
Palina Saulevich.
Despite dropping the doubles point, the Islanders won a doubles match on court two. Aucagne and Saulevich teamed for a 6-4 win over Miranda Bishard and Bella Nguyen.
In singles, A&M-Corpus Christi got on the board with a straight set 6-3, 6-1 win by senior
Victoire Delattre on court four. Junior
Kateryna Rublevska followed with a straight set victory 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot.
On court six, Saulevich outlasted Dora Kurdi in a pair of long sets 7-5, 7-6.
The clinching match came on the top court. Aucagne, the 2022 Southland Conference Player of the Year, won a back-and-forth match at court one. After falling in the first set, she stormed back to take a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 decision over Anna Pinaieva.
A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 2-0 all-time against NMSU.
"I'm very proud of the heart and fight this team showed today. They had opportunities to play the excuse card but instead played the fighter card. They really made a lot of good choices to be mentally tough and do what it takes, and the way they cheered and encouraged each other was the difference in this match. New Mexico State is a very tough team, especially at home and I have a lot of respect for them. This win took a lot of heart," said head coach
Steve Moore.
The Islanders will look to duplicate their performance Wednesday when they head to UTEP for a 12 p.m. (CT) match. A&M-Corpus Christi is in the midst of a five-match road swing to begin the season.
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, New Mexico State 3
Doubles Competition
1. Pinaieva, Anna/Zhu, Lisa (NMSU) def.
Naomi Moi McKenzie/
Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) 6-2
2.
Palina Saulevich/
Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) def. Bishard, Miranda/Nguyen, Bella (NMSU) 6-4
3. Ivanovskaia, V./Nishimura, Natsuki (NMSU) def.
Sofia Pinto/
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) 6-2
Singles Competition
1.
Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) def. Pinaieva, Anna (NMSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. Zhu, Lisa (NMSU) def.
Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
3. Nishimura, Natsuki (NMSU) def.
Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
4.
Victoire Delattre (AMCC-W) def. Ivanovskaia, V. (NMSU) 6-3, 6-1
5.
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) def. Bishard, Miranda (NMSU) 6-2, 6-2
6.
Palina Saulevich (AMCC-W) def. Kurdi, Dora (NMSU) 7-5, 7-6
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 14 NCAA Tournaments
- 30 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 39 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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