The women’s tennis team will compete this weekend at home for the first time in three weeks. The women (6-2, 2-2) will host Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana (8-3, 3-1), and the matches will begin at 11:44 a.m. Friday at the Eager Tennis Pavilion courts.
In last season’s matchup against Southeastern Louisiana, the Wildcats defeated the Lions 5-2. On the strength of four out of six singles victories and a three-match sweep in doubles play, ACU handled the Lions and improved to 3-0 in conference last year.
This year, however, the team is looking to break its two-game losing streak and make it past the .500 mark in conference play. Previously, ACU was on a six-game winning streak as the Wildcats were undefeated and stood at 2-0 in conference play.
The team enters this weekend with two back-to-back losses on the road to Northwestern State (5-2) in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and Stephen F. Austin (4-3) in Nacogdoches by close scores. However, the Wildcats will look to return to form and finish out the rest of the season strong.
Junior Nada Marjanovic, who previously earned 7-0 wins in singles, feels confident going into the weekend and is striving to prove the team can bounce back.
“We still feel good and confident,” Marjanovic said. “The matches we had were close and hard-fought battles. We know we’re still doing good things, so we’re just going to continue to give it our best and look to continue improving.”
The team will have no easy match as the Lions have been solid in singles play this season. The team will enter the match with a cumulative record of 45-18. The Lions’ leading player, Renee Villarreal, is 11-0 and at the No. 1 singles position.
The Wildcats will focus on setting the tone right from the start.
“Some goals we have as a team are to set the tone with the doubles,” Marjanovic said. “That’s something that we’re known for, and I think against strong conference opposition, it’s key to do so.”
After the weekend, the Wildcats will play No. 15 Texas A&M University next at 2 p.m. Wednesday in College Station.
