HAMMOND, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's tennis team will get another run towards a championship underway this weekend when it opens conference match play at Southeastern and Northwestern State.
The reigning SLC regular season and tournaments champions of A&M-Corpus Christi (9-1) will officially begin the conference schedule at 12 p.m. Thursday against Southeastern (5-4) before continuing on the road to Northwestern State (6-3) for an 11 a.m. Monday matchup. It will be the first and only conference road trip for the Islanders who will play all five remaining SLC matches at home.
The match at Southeastern was originally scheduled for Saturday, but forecasted rain in the area moved the conference opener to two days earlier.
The women are coming off their second-ever undefeated conference season in 2023 which helped them to a regular season championship. It marked the 31
st overall championship title for Islanders Tennis at the time and fifth regular season crown for the women, tying themselves with Northwestern State with the league's most regular season championships. The Islanders also hold the all-time Southland Conference records for NCAA Championship Appearances (6), Southland Tournament Championships (6), and winning percentage (.688) despite only being a conference member since 2003.
The Islanders are primed to defend that crown as they return the veteran players who will seek another under their belt. It includes seniors
Valeria Cherfus and
Victoire Delattre who both went 7-0 in the regular season against SLC opponents last year.
A&M-Corpus Christi is also coming off the momentum of a 4-0 sweep over UTRGV at home. It moved the Islanders to nine wins on the year. Seniors
Emma Aucagne and Cherfus have both garnered eight duals wins on the year coming mainly at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively.
Senior
Naomi Moi McKenzie hoists an unblemished 6-0 individual record all at No. 2 singles. Freshman
Ana Veroux has found her stride among the upperclassman, posting an undefeated record herself with a 6-0 mark between courts three and four.
Mckenzie, Cherfus, Delattre, and senior
Kateryna Rublevska are all also coming off All-Conference First-Team honors from 2023. McKenzie is the reigning SLC Newcomer of the Year, the third Islanders' women's tennis player to earn that recognition.
Overall, the women hoist a 110-37 record against Southland opponents under Moore in the regular season and are one of the winningest programs in the history of the Southland Conference for any sport. The women have won 11 titles and have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and six total. They are 15-1 over Southeastern and 13-11 against Northwestern State.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 16 NCAA Tournaments
- 33 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 41 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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