The ACU men’s and women’s tennis teams came up with some big wins this past weekend in their home matches as the men defeated Lubbock Christian and Hardin-Simmons on Friday and the Women defeated Texas-San Antonio Saturday afternoon.
The men’s team, coming off a disappointing loss in Fort Worth against TCU, was able to bounce back with a 7-0 sweep against both teams. The Wildcats did not lose a set all day going 24-0 in singles matches.
“I was really pleased the way the guys came out against Lubbock Christian and Hardin Simmons,” head coach Juan Nunez said. “All those kids play really hard, and they compete really well. They push our guys and I was just really pleased that every guy that got on the court took that match serious and took care of business as well.”
Leading the way for the Wildcats was Cesar Barranquero, sophomore from Villaescusa, Spain, losing only two games through his four singles matches on the day. Along with Barranquero, Mihaly Deli, junior from Sydney, Australia, came up big for the Wildcats going 24-5 through his four singles matches. Five different doubles teams saw action Saturday with Savan Chhabra, senior from Irving, Texas, and Ethan Scribner, freshman from Plano, Texas, being the consistent team through both matches. The North Texas duo secured a 6-1 win in their first match against LCU and won 6-3 in their second match against HSU.
“From an individual standpoint it’s really helpful for those guys who maybe haven’t seen that much action or weren’t as established in the lineup,” Nunez said. “For the rest of the team to see that everybody is ready to take charge and if they’re needed we got a bunch of guys that are gonna be able to step up and do what we need them to do.”
The Wildcats will find themselves in Colorado Springs this weekend as they take on East Tennessee State, The University of Montana, and Air Force.
On the other side, the women’s team gained a big 4-3 win at home against UTSA this past Saturday.
The Wildcats came out to an early 2-0 lead against the Roadrunners thanks to a big 6-3 doubles win from Maria Cascos, freshman from Gijon, Spain, and Maryjoe Crisologo, junior from Surrey, British Colombia.
However, the Roadrunners would not fold easily. They quickly came back and tied it up with ACU after two major singles wins. Cascos was able to put the Wildcats back on top after she gained a win in the No.5 spot by a score of 6-2 and 6-3. Yet once again UTSA responded by getting a clutch win in the No.4 spot entering the final match. In the No.3 spot and the final game of the day, Olivia Sears, Freshman from Goshen, Indiana was able to pull out a win with a close 7-5 win in the first set and finished it off with a 6-4 win in the second.
“It’s really hard coming in as a freshman to play that high and to win matches so for her [Olivia] to do that is super crucial,” said head coach Brian Rainwater. “She’s put in a lot of time and effort and work and its really showed up. Same with Maria, their confidence is growing because these first few matches we’re playing these tough opponents and they have really good matches against them so that’s really huge.
Sears would continue to shine on Saturday as she gained another singles win in Lubbock as the Wildcats took on Texas Tech. After losing the first set 2-6, Sears came back strong winning the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3. Unfortunately, this would be the only redeeming part of the trip out west as ACU dropped every other match to the Red Raiders this past Sunday.
“For me every year I want to play those big schools all through January and February,” said Rainwater. “Our goal in the future is to be in the top 100 and to do that we know that we are gonna have to step up. Playing these bigger schools prepares us really well for when we get to the mid-major schools and for next week when we play Wichita State and Oral Roberts, those are still big matches, but they should feel a little bit more like our level rather than having to play up to a different level.”
Women’s tennis are back home this Saturday with a doubleheader facing Trinity at 10 a.m. and Lubbock Christian at 3 p.m, while the men head to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to take on East Tennessee, the University of Montana and Air Force.
