The women’s tennis team moved up in conference play Friday as the team defeated Southland Conference opponent Southeastern Louisiana, 6-1.
Led by a strong showing in both singles and doubles play, the team now owns a 3-2 record in conference and 7-2 record overall this season.
In singles competition, the Wildcats earned five out of the six wins. Juniors Kaysie Hermsdorf and Nada Marjanovic, sophomore Erin Walker and freshmen Lucile Pothier and Whitney Williams all recorded victories, while senior Brittney Reed lost to the Lions’ undefeated player, Renee Villareal, in the first seed matchup.
Williams won her fourth straight match at the No. 5 position. However, the longest winning streak belongs to Marjanovic, who improved to 8-0 after defeating Madina Vorotnikova, who suffered her first loss of the season. Hermsdorf, at the No. 2 position, remains the team leader in total victories with nine after holding off Lucia Bustamante, 6-3, 5-7 and 10-4.
The doubles match between Villareal/Luca Bustamante and Reed/Hermsdorf was left unfinished when ACU snapped the overall win with the lead in singles. The Wildcats’ freshman duo, Lucile Pothier and Carli Knezevich, won their fourth match together and improved to No. 3 in conference.
Walker and Williams won in their doubles match as the two improved to 2-1. Walker and Williams also swept their opponents in singles competition, 6-1, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-2.
“We work really well together because we are both aggressive and like to get to the net,” Walker said. “We have really developed by communicating with each other better and understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Both wins in doubles were won with a record of 8-2.
The Wildcats were originally scheduled to play the Texas A&M Aggies of College Station in their next match, but threats of inclement weather canceled the match.
The team will travel Thursday and Friday to play conference matches against McNeese State and Nicholls State in Lake Charles and Thibodaux, Louisiana.