RUSTON, La. – The numbers three and seven surrounding the Tarleton State tennis team have lucky superstition with them, but there's nothing lucky about what the Texans have accomplished to start the 2024 spring season, as they cemented their best start in nearly 20 years on Friday.
The number three comes into play in the matchup on Friday itself. This was the third straight season Tarleton State and Louisiana Tech have matched up, and the Lady Techsters narrowly got the better of the Texans the last two years. The third time was the charm for the Texans this time around against a yet again tough LA Tech squad, as Tarleton pulled out a 4-3 road win in Ruston, Louisiana, dropping the Lady Techsters to 6-4.
The lucky number seven comes into play as the Texans improved to 7-0 to start the season, 4-0 on the road with wins in back-to-back days to start their three-match road trip. Their 7-0 mark is their best start to a season since 2005, when the Texans began the spring season 8-0, 6-0 in true road matches. The seven straight match wins isn't uncommon for this Tarleton State squad, however, a good problem to have. They most recently rattled off seven wins in a row to end the 2022 spring season.
"What a great team effort today," head coach
Elianne Douglas-Miron said. "Our doubles started out very strong on Court 2 and Court 3, and that gave us good momentum going into singles. Noelia [Lorca] has been working so hard in practice and it showed in the match today. She took care of business and gave us another point on the board.
"I need to give big props to Martha [Makantasi] and Elsa [Boisson]," Douglas-Miron continued. "Our seniors pulled through for us today, and I'm incredibly proud of them. We have been through so much together and seeing them clinch a match for us against a strong Conference USA team is really special."
Lorca and
Emma Persson got the day started on the right foot for the Purple and White in doubles with a 6-1 win on Court 3 against Tiffani Nash and Zoie Epps. The Texan duo is now 5-0 this season, all matches at No. 3.
Boisson and
Clara Sobius then clinched the doubles point on Court 2 with a 6-1 win against Ana Rodrigues and Valentina Vazsquez. Sobius is now 6-1 in doubles this year, and Boisson 3-2. Together they are 3-1.
In the top position, Makantasi and
Maretha Burger dropped a 6-3 final to Olga Bienzobas and Alexia Romero. That snapped a six-match winning streak to start the year for the Texans' top pair.
In singles, LA Tech got even quickly thanks to a Bienzobas 6-1 6-0 win over Persson at No. 1.
Lorca got one back for Tarleton with a 6-2 6-3 win over Epps at No. 5. Lorca remains undefeated on the year at 7-0, the tied-best singles record on the team.
Louisiana Tech responded at No. 6, as Romero defeated Burger 6-2 6-1, dropping the Texans to 5-2 on the year.
The Lady Techsters then took a 3-2 lead to come within a singles' win of the team victory, as Nash defeated Sobius 6-2 6-3. Sobius is now 5-2 on the year.
That's when Tarleton's seniors saved the day. Boisson pulled through in three sets to even the team match 3-3, defeating Rodrigues 6-1 3-6 7-5 on Court 2, improving to 5-2. Then Makantasi clinched the victory for the Texans on Court 3, defeating Vazsquez 6-4 4-6 6-3. Makantasi is perfect on the year at 7-0.
The Texans are now 2-0 on their three-match road trip in a three-day span. They'll finish off the trip on Saturday at Northwestern State at 12 p.m. CT.
