Tennis Stats

STEPHENVILLE – No. 28 Tarleton responded to a rough season opener by sweeping North Central Texas College in an afternoon tennis match at Potisham-Laird Tennis Courts.
 
“We played some good tennis today,” said head coach Lance Drake. “I was a little concerned at what our focus would be like after a tough match yesterday. NCTC is a gritty bunch that really makes you play. I'm pleased with our effort and there are areas to work on, but I will say I saw a lot of improvement from yesterday.”
 
Tarleton opened the day with a switched up doubles lineup from yesterday, pairing Alicia Perez with Ivana Zecevic in the No. 1 spot to go along with Karla Martinez and Makenzie Mitchell in the No. 2 spot. Melanie Barnes and Silvia Nieva were paired on the third court.
 
The Perez-Zecevic tandem won their match 8-3 while Martinez and Mitchell handled their competition 8-2. Barnes and Nieva had the largest margin of victory with an 8-1 win.
 
In singles play, Tarleton wasted little time in disposing of NCTC.
 
Perez knocked off Cassidy Crawford in the No. 1 match 6-2, 6-3 while Martinez defeated Elizabeth Arens 6-4, 6-0 in the No. 2 match.
 
Zecevic played her first match as the No. 3 seed and won 6-2, 6-0 over Nika Juricic while Melanie Barnes handled Sarah Palacio 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 4 spot. Mitchell won the No. 5 match in the tightest contest of the afternoon – 6-4, 6-7, 10-6.
 
Silvia Nieva won the No. 6 match over Kaitlin Hillebrand 6-1, 6-2 while April Downing finished the day in a non-seeded match against Mercedee Schwartz and won 6-0, 6-3.
 
The TexAnns will be off until Feb. 7 when they travel to Phoenix, Ariz. for a 9 a.m. match against the Academy of Art.