The ACU men’s tennis team finished their weekend matches with a big win over Southland Conference’s top team, Nicholls State.
The men started the weekend in Houston where they took on Rice and lost 1-5. Then they made a pit stop in Kerrville and blanked Schreiner University 7-0. The Wildcats did not allow more than two games to a Schreiner’s singles or doubles player. The team came back to Abilene to take on the other undefeated Southland team. The wildcats took down Nicholls in a close match 4-3.
The men jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Nicholls but they came storming back and tied it up at 3-3. Bensley lost the first set in the game deciding match but won the next two sets. The three set comeback victory by Marco Bensley clinched the win for the men.
“I knew I was playing well and I knew if I kept the right attitude and the right fighting spirit then I would find my groove and start winning games,” Bensley said. “It wasn’t till I went up 4-1 in the third set that I knew I could win the match.”
For Bensley, sophomore from South Africa, clinching the game for the Wildcats was a dream come true.
“When I was younger thinking of college tennis, clinching a match is what came to mind,” Bensley said. “Needless to say it felt really awesome to win that match for ACU men’s tennis. My hard work during the past few weeks definitely paid off this weekend.”
Bensley improved to 11-7 on the season.
The Wildcats won both doubles matches by a score of 8-6. Borja Cortes and Guilherme Gesser improved to 5-2, and Nico Agritelley and Jason Proctor won their third straight match together.
This victory against the top Southland team shows that the Wildcats can claw out wins against any team in the conference despite being the new kids on the block.
“This victory shows we are finally starting to believe in ourselves and each other,” Proctor said. “Everybody is on the same page and we know we can beat anybody if we all play well at the same time.”
The ACU men stay undefeated in conference play at 3-0 and will look to continue the success in their upcoming matches.
The Wildcats return to action Sunday for a noon dual at Lamar. They will then face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Austin on April 16 before closing out the home portion of their schedule April 17 and 18 vs. Hardin-Simmons, St. Edward’s and Oral Roberts.
