Special to The Flash
TarletonSports.com
STEPHENVILLE (February 17, 2017) – Tarleton, who is currently the No. 44-ranked team in the nation and the No. 6-ranked team in the South Central region, welcomed the Central region’s No. 7-ranked team, Central Oklahoma, to town and won a 7-2 thriller Friday afternoon.
“This was a good team victory today,” said head coach Lance Drake. “We started off very strong in doubles. There are still elements that we need to improve on, but the ladies performed with good energy and executed very well at times. That got us off to a good start.”
The excitement was rich early on as Elena Preadca and Luiza Ferraro-Adas handled their business in the No. 1 match with an 8-4 win before Alicia Barbaroux and Tori Simmons finished off an 8-6 win in the third set. Meanwhile, Erika Johnston and Ellie Stevens were locked in a battle for the No. 2 doubles match, which ultimately went to the TexAnn tandem by the final score of 8-5.
In singles, Central Oklahoma tried to mount a comeback by taking the No. 1 and No. 2 matches by scores of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-3, respectively, but Tarleton answered the call in the remaining four singles matches – starting with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep by Ferraro-Adas in the No. 6 spot.
“We knew they were going to come at us in singles,” said Drake. “They tried to regain the momentum with wins at No. 1 and 2, but we stopped the run when Alicia (Barbaroux) clinched her No. 3 match and the team win.
“I was very pleased with the way Ellie and Tori continued their play even after we clinched the match,” he added. “Also, a lot of credit goes to (coach) Suzi (Alcaraz) and our training staff for their work today.”
Barbaroux won the No. 3 match 6-2, 6-1 while Stevens (6-1, 2-6, 10-7) and Simmons (5-7, 7-6, 10-6) handled their business in the No. 4 and 5 spots.
Tarleton will return to action with back-to-back games next week when the TexAnns visit Division I Abilene Christian on Thursday and host Academy of Art Friday.
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