BEAUMONT, Texas – No. 4 SFA went back-to-back on Tuesday morning, outlasting No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a 4-3 thriller to claim the 2026 Southland Women’s Tennis Championship at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center.
In a rematch of last year’s title match, a 4-0 SFA victory, the Jacks once again found a way, this time surviving a tightly contested battle that came down to the final court.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi struck first, sweeping the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 courts to take a 1-0 lead. The Islanders carried that momentum into singles play, but SFA steadily worked its way back into the match.
Antonella Taco evened things up with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4, while Ksenia Mamontova followed with a three-set victory at No. 3 (6-3, 4-6, 6-0) to give the Ladyjacks the lead.
At the top of the lineup, Sonja Rooth delivered a clutch comeback at No. 1, rallying from a set down for a 1-6, 6-0, 7-5 win to push SFA closer to the title.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi responded with wins from Yana Mykytyn at No. 2 and Juliette Jalai at No. 6 to tie the match at 3-3, setting up a winner-take-all scenario at No. 5 singles.
For the third straight match, and the third time this week, it was Ana Paula Chavez who delivered the clincher.
After dropping the first set, Chavez battled back and held off a tense second-set tiebreaker before pulling away in the third, securing a 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 victory to seal the championship for SFA.
Chavez finished the week with all three match-clinching points for the jacks, also securing wins in a 4-3 quarterfinal victory over UIW and a 4-2 semifinal win over McNeese.
All-Tournament Team
Doubles
Yana Mykytyn / Kseniya Ramanouskaya, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Singles
Juliette Jalai, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sonja Rooth, SFA
Ksenia Mamontova, SFA
Antonella Taco, SFA
Ana Paula Chavez, SFA (MVP)
Up Next
SFA will await its NCAA Tournament destination during the 2026 NCAA Women’s Tennis Selection Show, scheduled for Monday, April 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.