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Tarleton State University Athletics

WACSemifinalsRecapTennis
Grant Cohen
0
UT Arlington UTA
4
Winner Tarleton State TSU
UT Arlington UTA
0
Final
4
Tarleton State TSU
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Grant Cohen

Tarleton State Tennis sweeps UTA in semifinals, secures spot in WAC Championship

ARLINGTON, Texas – Tarleton State Tennis is back in familiar territory, playing in the WAC Championship match after defeating UT Arlington 4-0 in Friday's semifinal at the Arlington Tennis Center. 

This is the third time in the last four years the Texans have competed in the conference tournament championship match. The Texans are searching for their first conference tournament title in program history. A win would give Tarleton State Athletics its fourth conference tournament title at the Division I level (Baseball - 2024, Women's Golf - 2025, Women's Indoor Track & Field - 2026). 

Tarleton State will face No. 2 seed Abilene Christian, with the Texans defeating the Wildcats 4-0 in the regular season finale last week. Saturday's winner will clinch the WAC's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 

Senior Ximena Morales and sophomore Maria Castano picked up wins in both singles and doubles, with Morales not losing a game on Friday. She is the second Texan in the last two years to win in singles 6-0, 6-0 in the WAC Tournament (Adeliya Mukhutdinova vs. No. 7 SFA, 2024). Freshman Aya Ishii, who leads the Texans in singles wins in 2026, clinched the match with her 17th victory. 

"We got the hardest part out of the way," head coach Elianne Douglas-Miron said. "First tournament match jitters are always difficult. We came out on fire in doubles play and we were able to keep that momentum in singles. We're experienced and we've been here before and we've played on these courts. We knew what to expect. UTA came out fighting, but ultimately we played better tennis today." 

Seeking redemption after their WAC Semifinals loss in 2025 to UTA, Tarleton State worked fast and efficiently to jump ahead. Morales and senior Emma Persson showed why they were the reigning WAC Doubles Team of the Week on Court 2, coming out with a 6-0 victory. Castano and sophomore Duru Kuscu trailed early at No. 3 doubles, but took a 4-3 lead and won the next two games to clinch the doubles point for the Texans. 

Morales' momentum carried with her in singles play, controlling the action from start to finish. The senior from Guatemala never trailed on Court 4 and did not lose a game in either set for the third time this season. Her victory over UTA's Vanja Cado and her first WAC Tournament singles win since 2023 put the Texans on top 2-0. 

Castano followed suit at No. 1 singles, winning 6-0 in the first set. UTA's Diana Kaibara responded by taking an early lead in set two, but Castano stormed back. Castano, the 2025 WAC Fall Tennis Invitational singles champion, finished business by taking set two 6-4 to put the Texans one point away from clinching a spot in the championship. 

Winning the first set in seven of her last eight matches entering Friday's semifinal, the story was the same for Ishii at No. 2 singles. The freshman from Japan won six of the first seven games to take control in the match on Court 2 before UTA's Elizave Mladentseva took an early 3-1 lead in set two. Ishii was unfazed, tying it at 5-5 and winning the last two games of the set to push Tarleton State past UTA. 

Fans interested in attending the WAC Championship at the Arlington Tennis Center will receive free admission. Live video will be available on WAC International and live scoring will be available through Stat Broadcast. 
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