A&M-Corpus Christi Hangs Tough against Talented Rice Squads

HOUSTON – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tennis programs battled Wednesday, but Rice took a 4-2 outcome on the men's side and 4-0 on the women's at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
 
It was the first defeat of the season for the women, who are now 11-1 overall. The men dropped to 9-6 after facing a Rice team that defeated No. 68 New Mexico last week.
 
The men got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. Seniors Ulysse Bertrand and Matthieu Peres kicked it off for a 6-3 win on court three and A&M-Corpus Christi clinched it with a 6-4 victory on court one by senior Pascal Lorieul and junior Avery Zavala.
 
It was a big day for Peres who won both a singles and doubles match. At No. 4 singles, he topped Wes Barnett in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to improve to 10-3 on the season.
 
The women saw a deadlocked match at court one before play was halted. Junior Emma Aucagne was leading a first set tiebreaker 5-3 when the Owls clinched. Aucagne remained undefeated on the year.
 
Also still undefeated on the season is junior Kateryna Rublevska. She dropped the first set but was leading in the second when the match ended.

Freshman Sofia Pinto nearly picked up a win as she was ahead 6-2, 6-5 and 30-15 in the game. The women did notch a win on court two in doubles. Aucagne and freshman Palina Saulevich topped Sydney Berlin and Diae El Jardi 6-2.
 
Up next, the women will play again in Houston for a noon match against the Cougars on Saturday.
 
Men's Tennis
Rice 4, A&M-Corpus Christi 2
Doubles Competition
1. Pascal Lorieul/Avery Zavala (AMCC-M) def. Wes Barnett/Trinity Grear (RICE) 6-4
2. Santiago Navarro/Campbell Salmon (RICE) vs. Lucas Schurdevin/Nathan Schwartz (AMCC-M) 5-5, unfinished
3. Ulysse Bertrand/Matthieu Peres (AMCC-M) def. Kabeer Kapasi/Eduardo Morais (RICE) 6-3
 
Singles Competition
1. Trinity Grear (RICE) vs. Avery Zavala (AMCC-M) 6-4, 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
2. Emir Sendogan (RICE) def. Pascal Lorieul (AMCC-M) 6-1, 6-0
3. Santiago Navarro (RICE) def. Nathan Schwartz (AMCC-M) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
4. Matthieu Peres (AMCC-M) def. Wes Barnett (RICE) 6-4, 6-4
5. Campbell Salmon (RICE) def. Ulysse Bertrand (AMCC-M) 6-4, 6-4
6. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC-M) 6-2, 6-2
 
Women's Tennis
Rice 4, A&M-Corpus Christi 0
Doubles Competition
1. Maria Budin/Federica Trevisan (RICE) def. Naomi Moi McKenzie/Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) 6-3
2. Emma Aucagne/Palina Saulevich (AMCC-W) def. Sydney Berlin/Diae El Jardi (RICE) 6-2
3. Saara Orav/Darya Schwartzman (RICE) def. Valeria Cherfus/Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) 6-3
 
Singles Competition
1. Allison Zipoli (RICE) vs. Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) 6-6 (3-5), unfinished
2. Federica Trevisan (RICE) def. Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) 6-1, 6-1
3. Sydney Berlin (RICE) vs. Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) 2-6, 5-6, unfinished
4. Darya Schwartzman (RICE) def. Victoire Delattre (AMCC-W) 6-1, 6-3
5. Maria Budin (RICE) def. Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) 6-2, 6-1
6. Saara Orav (RICE) vs. Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) 6-4, 0-2, unfinished
 
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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