SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's tennis team are heading to the SLC Championships where they will both seek a chance to defend their tournament title beginning Thursday and Friday for the reigning champions at the McFarlin Center, hosted by UIW.
The men (15-7) will enter the championships as the No. 5 seed and take on No. 4 Lamar (10-11) in the opening match Thursday at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to take on No. 1 UIW Friday at 6 p.m. with the championship match set for Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
The women (20-2) will get going Friday at 10 a.m. as the No. 1 overall seed, first taking on the winner of No. 8 Lamar (9-14) and No. 9 Bryant (6-8). The winner will advance to face No. 4 New Orleans/No. 5 UIW Saturday at 10 a.m. and the championship match is set for Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPN+.
Both won last year's conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament as one of just 29 schools in the nation to have both their men and women's teams in the postseason.
The men have won three tournament titles over the last five years, with the 2020 tournament being cancelled due to COVID-19. For the women, they have taken the tournament championship the last three years in a row and will be fighting for history as a four-peat has never been done in the history of the Southland Conference.
"We are extremely excited for a chance to compete for a berth into the NCAA Championships! These will be fierce battles every match. Everything will be earned the hard way through grit and relentlessness! These Islanders have worked so hard since August to have an earned confidence in these moments! I believe in their fitness, I believe in their mental toughness, I believe in their heart, and I believe they will fight for each other as hard as any team in the country! And at the end of it all, that's all you can ask for. The character road is our focus over result! Go Islanders!" said head coach
Steve Moore.
The men finished 2-2 in conference this year with a pair of 5-2 wins over New Orleans and Nicholls at home. Returners senior
Avery Zavala and sophomore
Lucas Schurdevin both turned in a team-best 3-1 singles record in Southland play with Zavala playing the No. 1 spot and Schurdevin at No. 3.
Zavala also bolstered three wins in at No. 1 doubles with partner
Etienne Marty as the two never dropped a doubles match in conference play.
The women completed a 7-0 run in conference play, refusing to let up to a Southland opponent for the second straight year. It helped them repeat as the SLC Regular Season Champions to help them to six total as a team, the most in conference history on the women's side.
Three Islanders remained untouched in singles, with senior
Valeria Cherfus notching the perfect 7-0 record at No. 4 singles. Senior
Naomi Moi McKenzie was 6-0 at the No. 2 line while sophomore
Palina Saulevich turned in a 5-0 record at No. 6.
Senior
Emma Aucagne was an impressive 6-1 at No. 1 singles and paired with McKenzie at No. 1 doubles for the exact same record. Senior
Kateryna Rublevska also posted the 6-1 singles record playing at No. 35 while freshman
Ana Veroux settled into the veteran lineup at No. 3 singles for a 5-1 record.
The men are 25-5 in SLC Tournament matches under Moore while the women are 22-8 in SLC Tournament matches. The Islanders have won nine championships in the last four seasons with five coming from the tournament.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 16 NCAA Tournaments
- 34 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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