Islanders Men & Women Beat UTRGV in South Texas Showdown

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis programs topped UTRGV on Saturday as the men won 6-1 and the women 5-2 at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
 
With the victories, the women remained undefeated on the season with a 9-0 record, while the men improved to 7-3.
 
"This is always a very competitive match and we really battled today. UTRGV always comes to fight but I thought our team dug in and competed incredibly hard. The team unity and team spirit were awesome today. The guys came out with incredible energy in doubles and never let up. The girls got off to a slow start in doubles then really came out fighting in singles. We showed a lot of heart and fight today," said head coach Steve Moore.
 
The men won the doubles point and then five of six singles matches. They got it started with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles as senior Pascal Lorieul and junior Avery Zavala clinched doubles 6-4 after senior Nathan Schwartz and freshman Lucas Schurdevin won 6-1 on court two.
 
Zavala won his second match of the day at No. 1 singles as he ousted Emilien Burnel 6-4, 7-6 (2). Schwartz also turned in an unbeaten day after he was up a set and leading in the second when his opponent retired.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi showed its depth by winning courts four, five and six. Senior Matthieu Peres grinded out a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) victory, while senior Ulysse Bertrand cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win. Freshman Tomas Quesada Perez rounded it out with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
 
Bertrand is now 6-0 on the year and A&M-Corpus Christi is 34-12 (.739) in singles as a squad.
 
On the women's side, the Islanders had to play from behind after dropping the doubles. Though, they quickly took the lead after lopsided matches on courts one and six as junior Emma Aucagne won 6-0, 6-1 and junior Kateryna Rublevska won 6-1, 6-1. Aucagne is now 6-0 this year and Rublevska is 7-0.
 
Another dominant performance came from junior Naomi Moi McKenzie as she defeated Lea Karren 6-0, 6-2. Fellow junior Valeria Cherfus notched a 6-2, 6-0 victory on court five. Senior Victoire Delattre came back to beat Barbara Martinez 2-6, 7-5, 10-7 to improve to 7-0 on the season.
 
As a team, women's tennis is 43-4 (.915) in singles.
 
Under head coach Steve Moore, the men are now 24-3 against UTRGV and the women 25-1. The two schools will rematch in Edinburg on Sunday, March 5. Though first, the men will head to UT Arlington for a Wednesday mid-week road match at 12 p.m.
 
Men's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 6, UTRGV 1
Doubles Competition
1. Avery Zavala/Pascal Lorieul (AMCC-M) def. Devald, Borna/Burnel, Emilien (UTRGV) 6-4
2. Nathan Schwartz/Lucas Schurdevin (AMCC-M) def. Krolo, Karlo/Whitehead, Sam (UTRGV) 6-1
3. Lawrance, Chris/Salazar, Agustin (UTRGV) def. Ulysse Bertrand/Matthieu Peres (AMCC-M) 6-3
 
Singles Competition
1. Avery Zavala (AMCC-M) def. Burnel, Emilien (UTRGV) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Devald, Borna (UTRGV) def. Pascal Lorieul (AMCC-M) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 10-8
3. Nathan Schwartz (AMCC-M) def. Krolo, Karlo (UTRGV) 6-2, 2-1, retired
4. Matthieu Peres (AMCC-M) def. Whitehead, Sam (UTRGV) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Ulysse Bertrand (AMCC-M) def. Salazar, Agustin (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-1
6. Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC-M) def. Lawrance, Chris (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-3
 
Women's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 5, UTRGV 2
Doubles Competition
1. Souza, Marjorie/Bahr, Isabelle (UTRGV) def. Naomi Moi McKenzie/Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) 6-3
2. Martinez, Barbara/Karren, Lea (UTRGV) def. Emma Aucagne/Palina Saulevich (AMCC-W) 6-3
3. Kateryna Rublevska/Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) vs. Vazquez, Yaiza/Rosenberger, Daniela (UTRGV) unfinished
 
Singles Competition
1. Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) def. Souza, Marjorie (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-1
2. Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) def. Karren, Lea (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-2
3. Bahr, Isabelle (UTRGV) def. Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Victoire Delattre (AMCC-W) def. Martinez, Barbara (UTRGV) 2-6, 7-5, 10-7
5. Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) def. Vazquez, Yaiza (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-0
6. Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) def. Rosenberger, Daniela (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-1
 
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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