Both the men and women’s tennis team played two matches last weekend, where the men stayed at home in Abilene and beat Tyler and Trinity University. For the women, they split the weekend with a 7-0 win against Lamar, and a 5-2 loss against Sam Houston.
For the women, they improve to 8-10 overall and 2-3 in conference play this season. The difference maker for the Wildcats this season has been their 1-6 record on the road. However the Wildcats are undefeated 6-0 record at home in Abilene, where they have shown to play some of their best ball.
“I felt really good overall and really good about everyone this weekend,” said head coach Bryan Rainwater. “We came out strong in doubles and let that come over in singles to give us a big win against Lamar where everybody was feeding off each other.”
The Wildcats consistent energy and effort throughout the weekend created the necessary momentum heading into the final conference season match. The recent success from a few notable players in senior Allison Stewart and freshman Paula Garrote who have put ACU in strong stature in the doubles matches.
With team chemistry coming together midseason, the Wildcats look to continue to improve as a team during this bye week with one main objective in mind, get healthy.
“Our goal is to use this week to get healthy,” Rainwater said. “We have been battling injuries for a long time, dating back to last season with torn ACL’s and recently we haven’t had Claire in a while. We just got to use this time to get healthy for the next match.”
The men continue to build on their midseason form by going 5-1 in their last six matches. Previously battling weather conditions and Power 5 preseason opponents, the Wildcats have found their stride as soon as Western Athletic Conference season kicked off.
“I am overall very pleased about our matches,” said head coach Juan Nuñez. “I am really proud of how we have been able to play with a variety of lineups and the depth we have on this team.”
Senior Oswaldo Cano led the way for ACU to earn a 6-1 victory against Trinity University. His efficient play in the single matches have been a key part in the team’s recent success that brings confidence to the entire team.
“I am glad this happened during our conference season,” Nuñez said. “If it were the other way around, I might have been a little concerned going into conference play, because you don’t know how a young team will handle doing do well in the preseason before starting conference season.”
While the women have no matches this weekend until April 16 against Tarleton, the men close out their four-game home stretch this weekend with matches against Grand Canyon on April 8 and New Mexico State on April 10 in Abilene.
