NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Texans rebounded from a rare WAC loss with ease on Friday, cruising to a 5-2 win over Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Tarleton (10-5, 2-1 WAC) played on the road for the first time since Feb. 18, improving to 5-2 away from Stephenville. This was the second straight year the Texans won 5-2 over SFA (8-8, 0-2 WAC).
The Texans avoided back-to-back losses, a slide they've only suffered once over the past two seasons. They're now 12-2 in conference matches at the NCAA Division I level.
Tarleton won the doubles point to start Friday's match, a competitive one that went down to the wire.
Elif Albayrak and
Ximena Morales remained perfect as a duo (4-0) to start doubles play, beating Elena Bleicher and Ksenia Mamontova 6-1 on Court 3. SFA's Felicia Back and Zala Ule evened the count on Court 2 with a 6-2 win over
Emma Persson and
Clara Sobius. In the top flight,
Martha Makantasi and
Elsa Boisson put Tarleton on the board with a 7-5 win over Alkmini Giannakogiorgou and Jemma Cave. Makantasi and Boisson are now 5-2 as a pair, playing together for the first time since Feb. 18.
In singles, Sobius made it 2-0 Tarleton with her near shutout win over Bleicher on Court 6, 6-1 6-0. Sobius, a freshman, is now 10-5 overall this season and has won eight of her last nine matches.
Boisson then put Tarleton one point away from the win with a straight-sets victory on Court 3. She defeated Ule 6-4 6-3 to improve to 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the third position. She has won six of her last seven singles matches.
SFA tried to get back in it with back-to-back singles wins to make it a 3-2 Tarleton lead. On Court 2, Mamontova defeated Makantasi 6-4 6-3, then Cave beat Morales on Court 4 7-6(4) 6-1.
But SFA wouldn't score again, as Persson clinched another team win for the Texans in the top flight. For the sixth time in Tarleton's 10 wins, Persson clinched the team victory, beating Giannakogiorgou 7-6(2) 3-6 6-2. Persson, a freshman, is now 12-2 on the year, all 14 matches played in the top two flights. She's won 12 of her last 13 singles matches.
Albayrak capped off Tarleton's day with a win on Court 5, beating Back 5-7 6-3 6-4. Albayrak, another Tarleton freshman, is 3-2 this year.
The Texans will stay in east Texas for a bout with the Sam Houston Bearkats on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in Huntsville at the Kelly & Ina May McAdams Tennis Center. Tarleton took down Sam Houston last year 4-3 in Stephenville in front of a raucous crowd. The Bearkats are 4-6 overall this year before their match Saturday against Abilene Christian.
