ARKADELPHIA, AR. – After a rough outing against a tough rival, the No. 22 Tarleton TexAnns bounced back by defeating Arkansas Tech in the final tennis match of the Ouachita Baptist Quad.
 
The rough outing came Friday evening when Tarleton rival, Southwest Baptist got revenge over the TexAnns for ending their season in NCAA tournament last season.
 
SBU took the momentum early by taking two of three doubles matches, with only Alicia Perez and Makenzie Mitchell earning a doubles victory.
 
Tarleton couldn't overcome SBU's intensity in the singles matches as they swept the board and handed Tarleton its first loss of the season.
 
“They were ready for us and we just couldn't match their intensity,” said head coach Lance Drake. “It was one of those matches where it seemed like nothing was going to turn the momentum.”
 
Tarleton took out its frustration on Arkansas Tech Saturday morning by earning a 6-3 win over Arkansas Tech.
 
Perez and Mitchell remained unbeaten in doubles with an 8-6 win in the No. 2 spot, while Karla Martinez and Melanie Barnes won the battle of top seeds, 8-4. Silvia Nieva and Kayla Deatherage fought valiantly but fell 9-7.
 
In the singles matches, the top three Tarleton seeds all managed to earn wins. Perez won 6-3, 6-3 as the top seed while Martinez (6-3, 6-0) and Barnes (6-0, 6-1) handled the two and three seeds.
 
Nieva won the fourth seed by the score of 6-1, 7-6 while Mitchell (4-6, 2-6) and Deatherage (0-6, 1-6) dropped their sets.

"I'm proud of the way we came out and competed after taking the tough loss," said Drake. "The effort was good. We had a chance to sweep the doubles, but once again we couldn't finish late. Now we just have to learn to finish.

"Also, Melanie (Barnes) wasn't feeling well Friday night but came in and played strong the next morning," he added. "She has the heart of a champion and she really showed it today."
 
Tarleton returns home for a 1 p.m. match against St. Edward's Monday.