CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Top-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, second seed UIW, third seed McNeese, and fourth seed Northwestern State picked up quarterfinal wins in the 2023 Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Championships at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center on Friday.
The Islanders will take on the Demons while the Cardinals and Cowgirls will all do battle at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
(1) TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 4, (9) NICHOLLS 0
The top-seeded team in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cruised to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over Nicholls. The No. 3 doubles team of Valeria Cherfus and Kateryna Rublevska cruised to a 6-0 win, while Naomi Moi McKenzie and Sofia Pinto clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles.
The Islanders carried that momentum into singles competition as Cherfus was victorious at No 4 singles, 6-1, 6-1, while Victoire Delattre took a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles. Moi McKenzie clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles to move on to the semifinals.
(4) NORTHWESTERN STATE 4, (5) NJIT 0
No. 4 Northwestern State moved on to the semifinal match with a 4-0 win over NJIT. The match was much closer than the score indicated as it was battle for the double point. The Demons' Sofi Garcia and Dorota Szcygielska took a 6-0 victory at the No. 3 court, but Shandra Dzhambazov and Laura Wipfli evened it up with a 6-3 win at No. 2. Northwestern State took the doubles point with a 6-4 win behind Ayu Ishibashi and Tjasa Klevisar for the early lead.
The Demons took that momentum into singles. Despite multiple matches facing a third set, Ishibashi took the win at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-0, and Garcia took a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 4 single to put the Demons firmly in control. Remske Ubachs gave Northwestern State the win with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles to send the Demons into the semifinals.
(2) UIW 4, (7) SOUTHEASTERN 1
No. 2 UIW took a 4-1 win over Southeastern to move on to the semifinals. Brandelyn Fulgenzi and Estefania Gonzalez took a 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles, while Nitika Girish and Amelie Montalvo took a 6-0 win as the Cardinals cruised to the doubles point.
Things were much tighter on the singles side despite Gargi Pawar taking a 7-6 (2), 6-3 win at No. 3 singles and Montalvo taking a 6-3, 6-4 win No. 4 singles to take a 3-0 lead. All four other matches went into a third set including a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win for Southeastern at No. 5 singles. However, Southland Player of the Year Brandelyn Fulgenzi closed the door with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win at No. 1 singles to advance the Cardinals into the semifinals.
(3) McNEESE 4, (6) LAMAR 0
No. 3 McNeese rolled to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over rival Lamar. The Cowgirls domianted the doubles point with a pair of 6-4 wins at No. 3 doubles with Tiana Fox and Maria Wang Martinez and No. 1 doubles in Heta Nuutinen and Emma-Lou Pommiers.
The Cowgirls remained in control in singles competition as Pommiers rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles, while Natalia Ballo took a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles. Ari Monlleo Sanchis closed the match and pushed the Cowgirls to the semis with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles.
UPDATED SCHEDULE | BRACKET | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
FIRST ROUND | Thursday
(9) Nicholls 4, (8) Bryant 1
(7) Southeastern 4, (10) New Orleans 3
QUARTERFINALS | Friday
(1) A&M-Corpus Christi 4, (9) Nicholls 0
(4) Northwestern State 4, (5) NJIT 0
(2) UIW 4, (7) Southeastern 1
(3) McNeese 4, (6) Lamar 0
SEMIFINALS | 10 a.m. Saturday
(1) A&M-Corpus Christi vs. (4) Northwestern State, 10 a.m.
(2) UIW vs. (3) McNeese, 10 a.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP | 10 a.m. Sunday, LIVE on ESPN+