STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State has owned the Western Athletic Conference since joining the NCAA Division I ranks, but they'll be put to the test Saturday against a tough Seattle U squad.
The Texans (12-2, 3-0 WAC) are unblemished in conference play thus far, however, they've faced the two bottom feeders, UTRGV and Utah Tech. The Redhawks (7-6, 2-1 WAC) will be no pushover, as they've knocked down Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian on the road, plus gave Grand Canyon everything they could handle in a 4-3 loss.
If history is any indication, Tarleton is ready for one of their toughest matches to date this season. For one, they've started this season 12-2, their best mark at this juncture of a season since 2005. They are 6-1 at home, and are 21-4 in Stephenville across the last three seasons. In WAC play, the Texans are 20-3 across the entire four years they've been in the conference.
Plus, Tarleton has fared well against Seattle U during that same stretch, going 3-0 against the Redhawks, all on the road or at a neutral location. The Texans have outscored them 16-3 over the three matches, including a 4-1 win against them in the WAC Tournament last season.
The Redhawks enter Saturday with three wins over their past four matches, the same as Tarleton, although the Texans are riding a three-match winning streak.
Tarleton has found their ideal doubles lineup it seems, as
Martha Makantasi and
Maretha Burger have played all 14 matches on Court 1, and
Emma Persson and
Noelia Lorca have played 11 matches on Court 3. On Court 2, the Texans have been rolling with
Elsa Boisson and
Ximena Morales of late, and they've started 3-1. Makantasi and Burger are 10-4 on Court 1, and Persson with Lorca are 10-1 on Court 3, 3-0 in WAC play. The Texans are 30-11 (.732) across doubles action.
In singles, the top four has been solidified for a while for Tarleton, although their No. 1 Persson was forced to retire early in the previous match. They've featured Persson at No. 1 in 13 of 14 matches, Boisson at No. 2 in 13 matches, Makantasi at No. 3 in 13 matches, and now Lorca has been the go-to at No. 4. The other three in rotation between the last two spots have been Morales,
Clara Sobius and
Adeliya Mukhutdinova. Across the board, the Texans own a 59-25 (.702) singles record, led by a 13-1 Lorca and 12-2 Makantasi.
Saturday's match will be the second played at the new Tarleton Tennis Facility, which opened on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a Texan 6-1 thrashing of Utah Tech.
Admission is free Saturday, and for all Tarleton home matches this season. For those unable to attend in-person, the match will be broadcast on WAC International, found
here. Live scoring can be found
here.
