Both men and women’s tennis programs are back to their normal regular season schedules, after weather conditions in Abilene delayed the two teams playing at the same time. The two programs both had their fair share of losing against nationally-ranked opponents this weekend.
The Men played for the first time against the University of Texas at San Antonio since their victories against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, and New Mexico State in the HEB Tournament of Champions. ACU was one match away from avoiding a 4-3 head-to-head loss against No. 60 UTSA.
“Overall I am pretty pleased with how we played”, said head coach Juan Nuñez. “For us to have competed until the very end, and only be one match away from winning that, is a credit to the belief our guys have in that they believe we belong against these tough opponents.”
The belief that the team can play against in team in the country has been one of the driving forces for success for Coach Nuñez’s squad this season. Before heading into conference play, the team prepares for another power five opponent, Texas A&M.
“If you take a look at our strength of schedule, you will see that it is preparing our guys and making them better, rather than the record showing that”, Nuñez said. “I think it is another tough match-up, but it will be a boost of confidence before conference play.”
For the women, they come off a weekend with a 4-3 win against Wichita State, where the doubles court was dominated by the Wildcats. Strength of schedule is also a factor in how ACU has been able to find themselves in midseason form in early March.
“I am really happy with how we played”, said head coach Bryan Rainwater. “Like I said before, Wichita State is a very aggressive and very good team, but when you are able to do good in doubles early like we did with MJ, Andy, Sylvia, and others, then you will always be in good position to win a tennis match.”
A 6-1 loss against No. 20 Baylor followed the following day in Waco after the Saturday victory at home. The game against the Bears marks the last game before conference play.
“We are going to keep doing the things we have been doing”, Rainwater said. “I feel like we have been doing great, you know the saying, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and it ain’t broke. We will get back to normal practices and prepare for WAC play from there.”
The Women’s next weekend matches begin on Mar. 19 against Stephen F. Austin and the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, where ACU kicks off conference play. The Men travel to College Station to face off against Texas A&M, which is their final game before beginning WAC play against Chicago State.
