ACU swept the Lone Star Conference Tennis Championships, as both the men’s and women’s teams won over the weekend in a rain-shortened tournament.
The men defeated Incarnate Word, then in the finals beat Cameron University for the second time in less than two weeks, in the championship match. It is the men’s third straight LSC title.
All the men’s doubles matches were close, and the ACU No. 1 and No. 3 teams pulled out the wins. The Wildcats defeated Cameron with a score of 5-1, as some of the matches were not able to finish because of rain.
“It was a great experience to beat Cameron again, this time in the finals,” said sophomore John Strahl. “We had a really close match with them to end the regular season, and Saturday was great because we had wins come from other guys on the team.”
Sophomores Eldad Campbell and Alfredo Desiati and junior Bryan Joiner each won their singles matches, the only singles competitions to be completed. In the regular season match against Cameron, these three players had lost to their singles opponents.
“My opponent, Nicolas Clerc, hadn’t lost a singles match all year,” said Desiati with a humble smile. “I got to be his first loss.”
The women defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State and Cameron University before beating Midwestern State University in the final with a 5-1 score; three singles matches couldn’t be completed.
Like the men’s teams, the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches went to the Wildcats. Junior Jaclyn Walker and freshmen Micah Hermsdorf and Emily Conrad won their singles matches in two sets.
“Coach always tells us to stay positive,” Conrad said. “We’ve been gaining lots of confidence, and it’s really paying off.”
It is the women’s fourth straight LSC win, and seventh in the last eight years.
“We won conference last year too,” sophomore Julia Mongin said. “It was a great win, and we are really looking forward to hosting regionals.”
ACU will host the women’s regional tournament, and probably the men’s tournament as well. The final regular season ranking will be released May 4 to determine the regional hosts. The men were ranked No. 2 in the South Central Region behind St. Edwards before winning the LSC on Saturday.
“These memories will always stay with us as a team,” Strahl said. “Everybody has put in a lot of effort to accomplish what we have done.”
