CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A trip to the finals of the Southland Conference Championship is what's in store for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis program after dismissing UIW 4-2 in the semifinals Friday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
The third-seeded Islanders won their seventh consecutive match and improved to 19-7 on the season. They won the doubles point and a pair of straight-set singles matches before senior
Matthieu Peres clinched in a thrilling three-setter.
"Just incredible heart from the Islanders today. These guys fought so hard for each other. They never quit and played with incredible team unity. UIW deserves great respect for the way they competed today and both teams really deserved to win this match," said head coach
Steve Moore. "I'm just so proud of our guys and the relentless fight they had. We talk a lot about winning from inside out with your heart and that's what they did today."
In doubles, senior
Nathan Schwartz and freshman
Tomas Quesada Perez got it started with a 6-3 win. The clinching match came on court one with a 6-3 victory from senior Pasal Lorieul and junior
Avery Zavala, an All-Conference First-Team doubles squad.
In singles, Zavala raced out to a 6-2, 6-2 win on court one to put the Islanders up 2-0. A&M-Corpus Christi increased its lead to 3-0 after Schwartz registered a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court four.
The final point didn't come easy as the Cardinals cut the match deficit to 3-2. Though, Peres battled for a back-and-forth 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win on court four to seal it.
Men's tennis improved to 24-5 in SLC Tournament matches under Moore. The Islanders are 11-1 against UIW under Moore.
The men are on a quest for their 22nd championship and 10th SLC Tournament title. Islanders Tennis has won 31 championships overall and six in the last three seasons.
The championship match is set for 4 p.m. Sunday when the Islanders go up against top-seeded New Orleans at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nicholls 1
Doubles Competition
1.
Pascal Lorieul and
Avery Zavala (AMCC) def. Anto Martin-Thiriat and Tomas Reche (UIW) 6-3
2. Jose Garmendia and Joao Sasso (UIW) def.
Ulysse Bertrand and
Matthieu Peres (AMCC) 6-3
3.
Tomas Quesada Perez and
Nathan Schwartz (AMCC) def. Noah de Luna and Arnau Miralles (UIW) 6-3
Singles Competition
1.
Avery Zavala (AMCC) def. Pietro Perego (UIW) 6-2, 6-2
2. Joao Sasso (UIW) def.
Pascal Lorieul (AMCC) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
3.
Matthieu Peres (AMCC) def. Arnau Miralles (UIW) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
4.
Nathan Schwartz (AMCC) def. Tomas Reche (UIW) 6-2, 6-3
5.
Ulysse Bertrand (AMCC) vs. Jose Garmendia (UIW) 6-3, 2-6, 3-2 unfinished
6. Noah de Luna (UIW) def.
Lucas Schurdevin (AMCC) 6-2, 6-4
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 14 NCAA Tournaments
- 31 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
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Tennis, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersTennis), Instagram (
@IslandersTennis) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Tennis).
#ShakasUp
