Abilene Christian women’s tennis opened its season at the annual ACU Invite at home. It’s the first opportunity for the new team to compete against high-level competition to prepare for conference play at the end of October.

With seven newcomers on the roster, head coach Bryan Rainwater said that the weekend provided valuable experience for a team still learning how to compete together.

“We are young, but I’m proud of my young team for responding anyways,” Rainwater said.

Jessica Board, junior from Sale, Australia, led ACU with a 2-1 record in both singles and doubles. In Flight D singles, Board defeated Vanja Cado of UT Arlington 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 [10-7] before defeating Aruzhan Nurambay of Tarleton 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday.

Board also scored in doubles with newcomer Alejandra Corroto, freshman from Spain, earning a 6-3 victory over UTA’s Suarez/Farkaslaki and a 6-2 win over Cado/Kaibara.

Rainwater highlighted Board and Victoria Correa, sophomore from León, Mexico, for their leadership through the weekend.

“I’m very happy with Jess and Vic,” Rainwater said. “As upperclassmen, they stepped up.”

Correa opened the tournament with a strong performance in Flight B singles, defeating Texas State’s Juliette Jalai 6-3, 6-2.

For Julia Ionescu, freshman from Edmonton, Canada, the tournament provided an early test against some of the strongest competition in the field. Ionescu competed at the No. 1 singles position and advanced to the third-place match in Flight B doubles alongside Che Neal.

Although Ionescu did not record a singles victory, Rainwater said her performance showed the potential she brings to the Wildcats.

 “She didn’t win matches, but she played really, really well and showed that she has a bright future for us,” Rainwater said.

Alem Cote, junior from Sainte Julie, Canada, also made an impact in Flight C singles, finishing 2-1. Her results included a 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 [10-6] victory over Flora Farkaslaki of UT Arlington.

“I was excited to compete for ACU the first time,” Cote said. “We learned a lot and we are ready to compete.”