NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's tennis team took on an SFA squad that went into the match undefeated in conference play and outlasted them 4-3 for the victory Monday at the Schlief Tennis Complex.
The Islanders (19-2, 5-1 SLC) handed SFA (10-6, 5-1 SLC) its first conference loss of the year to now create a tie for second in the league standings. It inevitably came down to the doubles point, which A&M-Corpus Christi was able to clinch from courts one and three. The young Islanders won with five freshman and one sophomore in their lineup.
The Islanders improve to 12-8 all-time over SFA and have won the last eight meetings. They also are 11-1 in road matches this year with today being their final away conference match of the season.
"I'm so proud of this young, high-character team of warriors! They grew up today big time and fought with so much heart and toughness! There are two ways to win in tennis: from the outside in with your shots or from the inside out with heart and fight, and this team won from the inside out today! I'm so proud of their heart, courage, and character. This is who we are and it is the foundation of our team! Go gritty, team-first Islanders!" said head coach
Steve Moore.
The pairing of
Kseniya Ramanouskaya/
Yana Mykytyn evened the field at No. 1 doubles 6-3 to set up the decisive match at court three.
Ana Veroux/
Adriana Jimenez Casado then took on the task and got it done at No. 3 doubles with a tight 7-5 victory for the early lead in the match.
Leticia Tarocco then earned another point for the Islanders at No. 1 singles after making work of a 6-4, 6-3 victory. SFA was able to get one back at court five, but A&M-Corpus Christi clinched the match with consecutive wins at No. 6 and No. 3 singles.
Juliette Jalai competed in the six spot and took a 6-1 first set before grinding out a 7-6 (3) tiebreak in the second set for the singles win. The decisive blow came at court three where
Yana Mykytyn battled a three-setter and came out victorious 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
The Islanders will now compete in their final road and nonconference match of the year when they head to Texas Lutheran next on April 3. The season's final stretch will be played all at home, as they will welcome UIW, Lamar, and UTRGV in April for the final three matches.
Match results // A&M-Corpus Christi 4, SFA 3
Doubles competition (2, 1, 3)
1.
Kseniya Ramanouskaya/
Yana Mykytyn (AMCC-W) def. Felicia Back/Ana Paula Chavez (SFA) 6-3
2. Ksenia Mamontova/Avery Kinsey (SFA) def.
Josefa Fuenzalida/
Leticia Tarocco (AMCC-W) 6-0
3.
Ana Veroux/Adriana J. Casado (AMCC-W) def. Alkimini Giannakogio/Sonja Rooth (SFA) 7-5
Singles competition (1, 5, 6, 3, 2, 4)
1.
Leticia Tarocco (AMCC-W) def. Felicia Back (SFA) 6-4, 6-4
2. Ksenia Mamontova (SFA) def.
Josefa Fuenzalida (AMCC-W) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3-0)
3.
Yana Mykytyn (AMCC-W) def. Sonja Rooth (SFA) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1
4. Antonella Taco (SFA) def.
Kseniya Ramanouskaya (AMCC-W) 7-6 (4-0), 6-7 (0-1), 10-4
5. Ana Paula Chavez (SFA) def. Adriana J. Casado (AMCC-W) 6-2, 7-5
6.
Juliette Jalai (AMCC-W) def. Alkimini Giannakogio (SFA) 6-1, 7-6 (3-0)
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 17 NCAA Tournaments
- 35 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 43 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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