The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Sports / ACU set for LSC Championships: Cameron shows upset potential over favored Wildcats

ACU set for LSC Championships: Cameron shows upset potential over favored Wildcats

April 21, 2004 by Joel Weckerly

By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor

With their seasons behind them, the men’s and women’s tennis teams will seek out Lone Star Conference titles at the LSC Championships in Oklahoma City this weekend.

The ACU men (22-5) and women (23-5) have enjoyed seasons of success, and each team has gone undefeated against conference opponents: the men were 4-0 and the women 6-0 in the LSC.

For the men, the most challenging opponent should be the LSC North’s Cameron (12-6), which narrowly lost to the Wildcats 5-4 in New Braunfels March 15.

“If we face them again we should beat them more handily,” Wildcat sophomore Evan Puglia said. “But they definitely have the potential to beat us. It came down to the wire last time.”

CU’s No. 1 player, Italian freshman Ivor Hitrec, anchors a strong singles lineup for the Aggies, which won flights 1 through 3 in the earlier loss to ACU. According to Puglia, Hitrec has trained with ATP player Goran Ivanisevic.

“They’re super strong in singles, but they’re not so good when they play together in doubles,” he said.

The men are favored to win the five-team tournament, but have been preparing themselves for pressure situations just in case. In practice matches, Puglia said the Wildcat players will start at 4-4 rather than 0-0, giving them the feel of real-life crunch time.

“It makes it easier to handle the real pressure,” he said. “Everybody can hit the ball the same, but it comes down to who’s more comfortable on the court. I think that’s why we have a good record; we’ve been able to handle the pressure situations.”

The ACU women might be even more heavily favored than the men. The Wildcats have outscored their LSC opponents 48-6 this season, with only Central Oklahoma coming close in a 6-3 loss March 27.

“We’re expected to win,” said senior Ashley Hawk, who usually plays the Cats’ No. 4 singles spot. “We’re pretty deep one through six, and a lot of other teams aren’t as solid down the ladder.”

Hawk said the team has received an added boost from overachieving freshmen Holly Lindloff and Lana Pavlin, who usually rotate between the No. 5 and 6 singles and 2 and 3 doubles slots.

“Our freshmen girls have really stepped up and filled our holes well this year,” she said.

The women’s team is set to play at 9 a.m. Thursday, while the men kick things off at 3 p.m.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: Tennis

Other Sports:

  • Women’s golf drives for success despite young mid-major status

  • More than money: FBS games bring in revenue, impact program

  • Realignment shakes up the WAC puzzle

About Joel Weckerly

You are here: Home / Sports / ACU set for LSC Championships: Cameron shows upset potential over favored Wildcats

Other Sports:

  • Women’s golf drives for success despite young mid-major status

  • More than money: FBS games bring in revenue, impact program

  • Realignment shakes up the WAC puzzle

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
30 Mar

Sing Song 2025 Awards Women’s Division:

Vocals:
1. Ko Jo Kai
2. Sigma Theta Chi
3. Delta Theta

Entertainment:
1. Sigma Theta Chi
2. Ko Jo Kai
3. Delta Theta

Note: An earlier post included a spelling error, so we have since updated it for accuracy.

Reply on Twitter 1906348770293317827 Retweet on Twitter 1906348770293317827 Like on Twitter 1906348770293317827 Twitter 1906348770293317827
acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
30 Mar

Sing Song 2025 Awards Class Division:

Overall Award:
1. Freshman Purple
2. Freshman White
3. Seniors

Reply on Twitter 1906188185371034000 Retweet on Twitter 1906188185371034000 Like on Twitter 1906188185371034000 3 Twitter 1906188185371034000

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

11 months ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

1 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

1
2
3
4
5
PrevNext
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved