EDINBURG, Texas – Completing the season sweeps over UTRGV, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women won 7-0 and the men 4-2 on Sunday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union
With the wins, A&M-Corpus Christi took the lead as an institution 25-23 over UTRGV in the South Texas Showdown standings. The showdown is a 12-sport competition between the Islanders and the Vaqueros.
The women excelled in a 7-0 win Sunday, while the men grinded out a back-and-forth nail-biter in front of a large crowd. The women are now a perfect 10-0 on the season, while the men are 9-4.
"UTRGV deserves a lot of respect. They competed very hard today and their crowd made this a great environment. We had to dig in and fight with all our hearts today. Our teams deserve a lot of credit because they had to earn this the hard way," said head coach
Steve Moore. "Big road wins today for the gritty Islanders."
The women battled for a tough doubles point. Junior
Naomi Moi McKenzie and freshman
Sofia Pinto recorded a 6-4 win on court one, and juniors
Valeria Cherfus and
Kateryna Rublevska clinched it with a 7-5 decision on court three.
The Islanders created separation in singles after winning the first set on five of six courts. It included a 6-2, 6-0 win for junior
Emma Aucagne on court one, and a 6-2, 6-4 victory for McKenzie on court two.
Pinto and Cherfus also won in straight sets. Pinto finished off Barbara Martinez 6-3, 6-2, at No. 3 and Cherfus cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 final at No. 5.
On court six, Rublevska dropped the first set when she came back and took the lead late in the second and her opponent retired. Senior
Victoire Delattre capped it off with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 win in a third set super tiebreaker.
"The girls have been amazing. They really are learning to play every present point with intensity. No one ever permanently arrives with that so it's a challenge every day, but they are getting better and learning to play aggressive, smart," Moore said.
The men had to face adversity in order to finish on top. They fell behind after falling in doubles and dropped the first set in singles on three courts. All of A&M-Corpus Christi's wins came in three-setters.
Senior
Matthieu Peres got the Islanders on the board first. He shook off a tough first set defeat to come back and cruise in the next two for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win on court four.
A&M-Corpus Christi took a 3-2 lead in the match with wins on courts two and six. Senior
Pascal Lorieul knocked off Borna Devald 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 2, and freshman
Tomas Quesada Perez edged Chris Lawrance 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
The clinching match came on court three. Senior
Nathan Schwartz battled back for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Karlo Krolo.
"The guys got down early but showed great heart. The courage and brotherhood of these guys is phenomenal and it's special to coach them," Moore said. "We learned a lesson today – we can't play as many loose points and must have clarity of process. It's one thing to play your process but it's another to do it when you feel pressure in the big moment; that's the difference."
The Islanders improved to 26-1 on the women's side and 25-3 on the men's against UTRGV under Moore.
Next up, the men's team will make a long trip to SLC affiliate member Illinois-Chicago on Friday at 10 a.m.
Women's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 7, UTRGV 0
Doubles Competition
1.
Sofia Pinto/
Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC) def. Isabelle Bahr/Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) 6-4
2. Lea Karren/Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) vs.
Palina Saulevich/
Emma Aucagne (AMCC) 6-6, unfinished
3.
Valeria Cherfus/
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC) def. Daniela Rosenberger/Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 7-5
Singles Competition
1.
Emma Aucagne (AMCC) def. Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-0
2.
Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC) def. Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-4
3.
Sofia Pinto (AMCC) def. Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-2
4.
Victoire Delattre (AMCC) def Lea Karren (UTRGV) 6-4, 1-6, 10-8
5.
Valeria Cherfus (AMCC) def. Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-3
6.
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC) def. Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-5 ret.
Men's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, UTRGV 2
Doubles Competition
1. Karlo Krolo/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) vs.
Avery Zavala/
Pascal Lorieul (AMCC) 6-5, unfinished
2. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) def.
Nathan Schwartz/
Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC) 6-2
3. Chris Lawrance/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) def.
Ulysse Bertrand/
Lucas Schurdevin (AMCC) 6-4
Singles Competition
1. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) def.
Avery Zavala (AMCC) 7-5, 6-3
2.
Pascal Lorieul (AMCC) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3.
Nathan Schwartz (AMCC) def. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4.
Matthieu Peres (AMCC) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
5. Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) vs.
Ulysse Bertrand (AMCC) 0-6, 7-6, unfinished
6.
Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
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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