STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton and Pacific entered Tuesday’s match with impressive records in 2022, and the contest lived up to the billing, with the Tigers leaving Stephenville with the win.
Tarleton (11-4) lost for the just the second time in their last 12 matches, the first time they’ve lost at home this season (4-1). Pacific won Tuesday’s match at the Potishman-Lard Tennis Courts 4-2 to improve to 7-4 overall, 7-2 on the road this season.
The Texans drew first blood by winning the doubles point, with the Nos. 2 and 3 flight matches recording a final. At No. 2, Jemi Aguilar and Elsa Boisson beat Cindy Ung and Alexis Sam 6-4. It was the same score and the same result for the Texans at No. 3, with Celia Vaudiau and Faustine Palatte beating Megan Carmichael and Danielle Zamora. The No. 1 doubles match between Tarleton’s Deniza Marcinkevica-Martha Makantasi and Pacific’s Klara Kosan-MiaAngelina Ruja was unfinished with the Tigers leading 6-5.
Pacific had the momentum early in singles play, taking the first set in four of the six matches. Those four matches all resulted in wins for the Tigers, the four points needed for the team victory. The Texans didn’t go down without a fight, however, making the match last over three hours, with two matches playing in the third set at the end for the team win.
Pacific got its first win in the top flight, with Ruja beating Marcinkevica 6-1, 6-3. The Tigers then took a 2-1 lead on the heels of Sam’s win over Natalia Komar 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 6 position.
Vaudiau got the Texans back even at 2-2 by doing her usual thing – winning in singles. Vaudiau defeated Carmichael 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 5 position for her 13th straight singles win. She is now 13-1 on the season, with 10 straight wins in straight sets.
In the No. 4 position, the Tigers retook the lead thanks to Zoe Clydesdale-Eberle’s win over Boisson 6-3, 7-5. The last two matches, the Nos. 2 and 3 flights, went down to the wire with the match on the line. At No. 3, Makantasi held a 6-3, 4-6, 5-1 lead, just a game away from evening the team match up, before it became unfinished with a Tigers win at No. 2. Kosan defeated Aguilar 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to clinch the victory for Pacific, their third straight win.
The Texans will enter conference play with an 11-4 record. They’ll be in Huntsville, Texas, this weekend for neutral site matches against Lamar on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
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