HUNTSVILLE, Texas – It's been smooth sailing for the Tarleton tennis team so far this year, boasting an 11-4 record entering Western Athletic Conference play this weekend.
The Texans have two neutral site matches in Huntsville, Texas, against Lamar on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
This isn't the first time Tarleton has met WAC teams this season, however, owning a 3-0 record with wins over Grand Canyon (4-2), UTRGV (7-0) and Dixie State (7-0). Those were not considered conference matches though.
Last year, the Texans fared very well in their first season in the WAC, finishing second at 5-1, only behind GCU, who went 6-0. Now Tarleton owns the best non-conference record out of the entire conference by a country mile.
The Texans still have something to prove though, picked to finish third in the new Southwest Division by the other five head coaches. The purple and white will start their efforts this weekend, taking on a 7-6 Lamar team on Saturday and a 7-5 SFA team.
The Cardinals have won two straight matches over Nicholls and Binghamton. Their strongest position has been the No. 6 spot, going 9-4 in that flight. They've gone just 3-6 in the top flight, Elena Tairyan playing the majority of those by going 2-5. In doubles, the Cardinals are 15-20 in individual matches.
The Ladyjacks were picked to finish first in the WAC Pre-Conference Coaches Poll. They've won three straight in sweeps over Binghamton, McNeese and Prairie View A&M. They'll begin conference play Saturday against Abilene Christian.
SFA has had virtually the same lineup all season, literally no change in doubles with Ai Noa Fabre and Zala Ule (5-4) at No. 1, Nyah Kauders and Paula Cerda at No. 2 (8-1), and Ana Kouchnareva and Elena Bleicher (4-3) at No. 3. Kauders has been the best singles player for the Ladyjacks with a 6-1 record, including 4-0 at No. 1.
She'll likely match up with
Deniza Marcinkevica (6-5), who has played every singles match at the No. 1 position for Tarleton.
Jemi Aguilar (6-5) has been the primary No. 2,
Martha Makantasi (11-3) the No. 3,
Elsa Boisson (10-4) the No. 4, and
Celia Vaudiau (13-1) the No. 5. Vaudiau has won 13 straight singles matches. At No. 6, it's been between
Natalia Komar and
Anna Davidson for most of the year.
In doubles, the Texans have won the team point in three straight matches, trying out new pairings often.
These matches are not scheduled to be live streamed or live scored.
