CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's tennis team went down after dropping a heartbreaking doubles decision but didn't allow it to falter their process as they responded with authority in singles play to take a 5-2 win from McNeese Saturday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
The Islanders (18-2, 5-0 SLC) headed into a top-two battle with McNeese (18-2, 5-1 SLC) and came out on top to sit in sole first place in the Southland Conference standings. With just two matches left for the reigning champions, A&M-Corpus Christi is one step closer to securing that repeat.
Although the Cowgirls, who had been ranked as high at #69 in the ITA rankings this year, managed to escape with the doubles point in a tiebreak, the Islanders stood strong with what they know and took five of the singles duals to win their 21
st consecutive match over conference opponents.
"I cannot talk enough about the mental toughness and character of these girls! Heartbreaking doubles point, you've got to give McNeese a lot of credit; they came to fight today! But our girls took the adversity, pulled each other out of the mud, encouraged each other, and fought will all their hearts! And that's what it took today because McNeese is a very tough and well-coached team! Our girls have been training all year for this moment and they've earned the right to be confident in this moment when it's about hot, fitness, outdoor tennis! We've got to get better at multiple things, but this is such a motivated group and I know they've got an eye of the tiger to win for our seniors! Go Islanders!" said head coach
Steve Moore.
Freshman
Ana Veroux quickly took away McNeese's advantage in the match with a dominant performance at No. 3 singles, taking down her opponent 6-0, 6-3. Senior
Emma Aucagne then settled in as the veteran has been in those moments before and took care of business at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-3.
Senior
Naomi Moi McKenzie gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead in the match after grinding out a 6-4, 6-3 win at court two. It allowed senior
Valeria Cherfus to find herself in a similar situation to the 2023 SLC Finals, getting the opportunity to clinch and doing just that after battling a 6-2, 6-4 win at court four.
With the win already secured, the Islanders looked to sophomore
Palina Saulevich to close out strong at No. 6 singles after she came back from a first-set loss. She went into a 10-point tiebreak to determine the victor, and it was Saulevich who emerged with that honor after digging deep for a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 12-10 victory.
In addition to their consecutive success over Southland opponents, the Islanders have extended their home winning streak to 44 straight spanning over the last four seasons. They will look to post another undefeated home record Monday in their home finale against Lamar at 10 a.m. There, A&M-Corpus Christi will also recognize their decorated seniors in a special Senior Day recognition.
It will hopefully be a day full of celebration, as a win could clinch at least a share of the 2024 SLC Regular Season Title.
Match Results – A&M-Corpus Christi 5, McNeese 2
Doubles competition (3, 2, 1)
1. Arina Gamretkaia/Anastasija Adeikyte (MCN) def.
Emma Aucagne/
Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) 7-6 (8-6)
2.
Ana Veroux/
Palina Saulevich (AMCC-W) def. Maria Wang Martinez/Natalia Ballo (MCN) 6-4
3. Tiana Fox/Aina Domingo-Bernabe (MCN) def.
Valeria Cherfus/
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) 6-3
Singles competition (3, 1, 2, 5, 4, 6)
1.
Emma Aucagne (AMCC-W) def. Arina Gamretkaia (MCN) 6-1, 6-3
2.
Naomi Moi McKenzie (AMCC-W) def. Aina Domingo-Bernabe (MCN) 6-4, 6-3
3.
Ana Veroux (AMCC-W) def. Anastasija Adeikyte (MCN) 6-0, 6-3
4.
Valeria Cherfus (AMCC-W) def. Emma-Lou Pommiers (MCN) 6-2, 6-4
5. Maria Wang Martinez (MCN) def.
Kateryna Rublevska (AMCC-W) 6-4, 6-3
6.
Palina Saulevich (AMCC-W) def. Tiana Fox (MCN) 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 12-10
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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