A&M-Corpus Christi Men & Women Win at Nicholls

THIBODAUX, La. – Both the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis teams picked up conference victories Sunday as the women won 7-0 and the men 4-3 at Nicholls at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex.
 
The women started it off with a clean sweep without dropping a set to improve to 17-2 overall and 4-0 SLC. The Islanders sit alone at the top of the conference standings after submitting their sixth consecutive win.
 
"This is the most complete match we've played this year. Nicholls has a darn good team and a lot of these matches were much closer than the score, but our girls are beginning to play every present point with intensity! Every present point within their process and the energy was the best all year today! I'm incredibly proud of this team and the good choices they are making," said head coach Steve Moore.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi started it off by winning all three doubles courts. Junior Naomi Moi McKenzie and freshman Sofia Pinto shined in a 6-0 win on court one. Junior Emma Aucagne partner with senior Victoire Delattre, who made her first doubles appearance of the year, and won 6-3 on court two. Juniors Kateryna Rublevska and Valeria Cherfus finished it off 6-4 on court three.
 
The Islanders kept it going in singles. Aucagne won 6-4, 6-4 on court one and McKenzie 6-2, 6-4 on court two. Pinto was up a set and three games in the second when her opponent retired on court three, and Cherfus excelled in a 6-2, 6-1 victory on court four.
 
Rounding it out, Delattre was victorious 6-2, 6-2 on court five and Rublevska 6-4, 6-0 on six.
 
The women are now 107-37 in conference under Moore since 2007. Moore improved to 14-0 in his career against the Nicholls women.
 
The men's match was much tighter. A&M-Corpus Christi had to come from behind after the Colonels grabbed the doubles point. Though, the Islanders did win on court one where senior Pascal Lorieul and junior Avery Zavala, the reigning SLC Player of the Week winner, pulled out a 6-2 decision.
 
Freshman Tomas Quesada Perez evened the match 1-1 with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 win on court three. The Islanders then went up 3-1 after senior Ulysse Bertrand won 6-1, 6-2 on court six and senior Nathan Schwartz won 6-3, 6-3 on court four.
 
The clinching match came on court two where Lorieul won his second match of the day 6-4, 6-3.
 
"This was a gutsy win from our guys who showed a lot of heart! We've had some heartbreaking losses that we know we let slip away. Then we lose the doubles point today to a very spirited, talented Nicholls team! And then our seniors just took over! Their leadership was amazing today! This is the kind of win we needed to turn it around! We talked about how character is shown by the way you get back up after you've been knocked down! They just showed great character today," Moore said. "Tremendous respect for Nicholls and how hard coach Greg Harkins has worked to build that new facility! That is a tremendous treasure for their team and community, but also every team in the Southland Conference. All boats rise when someone builds a great facility like that."
 
Moore hoists a 67-11 SLC record in men's tennis and is now 20-0 against Nicholls.
 
The women will remain on the road Thursday when they travel to McNeese for a 1 p.m. start. The next home match is Wednesday, April 12 when the men host UIW at 1 p.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
 
Women's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 7, Nicholls 0
Doubles Competition
1. Naomi Moi McKenzie/Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) def. Laura Lopez/Constanza Cruz (NICH) 6-0
2. Emma Aucagne/Victoire Delattre (AMCC-W) def. Sophia Sara Safarova/Noemie Piquet (NICH) 6-3
3. Kateryna Rublevska/Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) def. Carla Bouygues/Dareen Hassan (NICH) 6-4
 
Singles Competition
1. Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) def. Simona Maksimovic (NICH) 6-4, 6-4
2. Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) def. Sophia Sara Safarova (NICH) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sofia Pinto (AMCC-W) def. Dareen Hassan (NICH) 6-3, 3-0, retired
4. Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) def. Carla Bouygues (NICH) 6-2, 6-1
5. Victoire Delattre (AMCC-W) def. Laura Lopez (NICH) 6-2, 6-2
6. Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) def. Noemie Piquet (NICH) 6-4, 6-0
 
Men's Tennis
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nicholls 3
Doubles Competition
1. Avery Zavala/Pascal Lorieul (AMCC-M) def. Harry Collins/Wout Doumen (NICM) 6-2
2. Omar Morsy/Quentin Lamothe (NICM) def. Nathan Schwartz/Lucas Schurdevin (AMCC-M) 6-2
3. Antonio Sasso/Lukas Morand (NICM) def. Ulysse Bertrand/Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC-M) 6-4
 
Singles Competition
1. Omar Morsy (NICM) def. Avery Zavala (AMCC-M) 6-2, 6-4
2. Pascal Lorieul (AMCC-M) def. Ilian Borlee (NICM) 6-4, 6-3
3. Tomas Quesada Perez (AMCC-M) def. Harry Collins (NICM) 6-0, 6-2
4. Nathan Schwartz (AMCC-M) def. Quentin Lamothe (NICM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Antonio Sasso (NICM) def. Lucas Schurdevin (AMCC-M) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 10-8
6. Ulysse Bertrand (AMCC-M) def. Wout Doumen (NICM) 6-1, 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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