SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis team battled through a hard-fought match to close out its nonconference slate Wednesday, grinding out a 4-1 victory over Southern Miss behind resilience in both doubles and singles play.
The Islanders (12-2) had to earn the early edge, splitting momentum across the doubles courts before ultimately securing the point.
Matthieu Coignet/
Mikel Garmendia delivered a commanding 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles to give A&M-Corpus Christi a spark, but the remaining courts were tightly contested. After dropping a 7-5 decision on court three, the point came down to No. 2, where
Etienne Marty/
Omar Suarez showed poise under pressure, outlasting their opponents in a marathon tiebreaker, 7-6 (11-9), to clinch the doubles point.
Singles play proved to be no easier, as every court featured long rallies and momentum swings. Southern Miss struck first with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles, but the Islanders refused to let the match tilt. Marty answered with a steady and composed 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 3 to shift energy back to the Islanders' side.
From there, A&M-Corpus Christi leaned on its depth.
Josef Zapletal methodically wore down his opponent at No. 5, securing a 6-3, 6-2 win that pushed the Islanders ahead and within striking distance of the clinch.
Nicholas Niox Chateau delivered in a pressure-packed battle at the top court. After taking the first set 6-4, Niox dropped the second 6-3 but regrouped in the deciding frame. He broke through in the third set and held firm to close out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory, sealing the team win.
Two other Islanders were battling when their courts went unfinished. Coignet was locked in a back-and-forth contest on court four after splitting the first two sets, while Garmendia was also engaged in a tight third set battle on court six when play was halted.
This was the second ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and Southern Miss, with the Islanders winning both following the 2023 matchup also going in their favor 5-2.
It wraps up the nonconference slate and served as a last tuneup before the Islanders go full swing into defending their regular season championship with Southland Conference play beginning Saturday at UTRGV.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 17 NCAA Tournaments
- 37 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
#ShakasUp
