(photo via ACU Sports)
The women’s tennis team began its 2016 spring season with a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, last weekend to take on Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts University.
Six members of the team participated in matches, including seniors Kaysie Hermsdorf and Nada Marjanovic, juniors Ansley Boarman and Erin Walker, along with sophomores Lucile Pothier and Whitney Williams.
In singles competition, the Wildcats were impressive against Oral Roberts, as they won four out of six matches. However, they struggled against Oklahoma State, winning only one singles match out of six.
Marjanovic knotched two victories over Andrada Gordan 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), and Katarina Stresnakova 3-6, 7-6, 1-0, both from Oral Roberts. Walker came away with 6-3 and 6-1 victories, while Pothier finished off Petya Simeonova of ORU, 6-1, 6-2. Williams made quick work in her match, ending in 6-2 and a 6-0 blanking over Brenda Mercado Jove out of ORU.
“I was really happy to start off the season well,” Marjanovic said. “I tried not to give them too much credit and just knew if I took it one point at a time I would have a good match and I did. We knew they were going to be some tough teams, but we went in there with high energy and represented ACU. We all competed to the best of our ability and it was really great to start off the season on a positive note overall.”
In doubles competition, ACU played well against ORU, sweeping them with three victories. However, after three doubles victories, the Wildcats were unable to secure a win over Oklahoma State.
Walker and Williams beat the duo of Jovana Antonijevic and Ceijenia Cornelius from ORU 6-1, then lost to Oklahoma State, 6-3. Hermsdorf and Pothier defeated Andrada Gordan and Petya Simeonova of Oral Roberts 6-3, then lost to the team of Vladica Babic and Katarina Adamovic from OSU, 6-1. Boarman and Marjanovic beat the team of Ximena Puentes and Valentina Gisbert from ORU 6-1, then lost to Katarina Stresnakova and Maria Alvarez from OSU, 6-2.
“I felt like it was a great start to the season for our whole team,” Walker said. “Personally, it was so fun to get back into competing as a team and I’m really excited for the rest of the season. Our teams performance was really good even though we didn’t win both matches, everyone competed really well.”
The next tournament for the women will be in Bloomington, Indiana as they take on the Indiana university invitational next weekend.
