BEAUMONT, Texas - In the longest dual of head coach
Hutton Jones' 18-year career at Abilene Christian, his women's tennis team Sunday came back from several deficits to beat Lamar, 4-3, in a match that started in one city and ended in another.
The dual began at noon on the outdoor courts of the Thompson Family Tennis Center, but a downpour began to fall around 4:30 p.m. with the score tied at 3-3 as the third set at No. 6 singles was just beginning. And since there are no indoor courts in Beaumont, the coaching staffs called around to a few different placed before settling on the Galleria Tennis and Athletic Club, which was a 90-minute drive to the west in Houston.
Once there, senior
Emily Conrad and Lamar's Anna Spengler completed warmups and resumed play with Spengler ahead, 2-1, and serving with the score at deuce. But Conrad broke her serve to tie the score at 2-2 and went on to win in convincing fashion, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, with the final point delivered at approximately 8:15 p.m.
Conrad's win evened her season dual record at 9-9, but she wouldn't have had the opportunity to compete for the team victory if not for senior
Micah Hermsdorf, who tied the score at 3-3 after holding off Dariya Dashutina in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
"I've been very impressed with the level of competition from every team we've faced in the Southland Conference," said Jones. "And with each match coming down to a few points here and there, it was great to see our girls play with composure. They never once wavered, which made for a satisfying day."
Even though the eventual match-tying and go-ahead points were attained in singles, Jones believes the momentum swung in his team's favor during doubles, which it lost, two games to one.
But here's what happened in the early goings. The No. 2 team of
Brittney Reed and
Erin Walker came all the way back from a 6-3 deficit to win, 8-6, while the No. 1 and 3 teams each lost in a tiebreaker after trailing by as many as four points.
"I reminded the girls at the break that we were only down one point and that someone was going to come out and win and tie things up at 1-1, so I felt like we had the momentum on our side," he said, "because we easily could have lost those matches, 8-2, 8-3, 8-3. Instead we made it a point of saying, 'we're not going anywhere.'"
Sophomore
Nada Marjanovic got the Wildcats on the board with her win at No. 5 over Hanna Elfving, 6-3, 6-2. The victory was Marjanovic's fifth-straight and 18th of the season to lead all Wildcats.
A few matches later, Walker won her second point of the weekend at No. 2 singles, beating Carolina Masó, 6-2, 7-6.
Lamar regained the lead briefly at 3-2 behind wins at No. 3 and 4 singles from Alicia Porte and Kayya Lapayeva over Reed and
Kaysie Hermsdorf, respectively.
The Wildcats (15-4, 7-2 Southland) return to action Wednesday with a neutral-site match in Austin against a red-hot side from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which is on an eight-match winning streak.
Abilene Christian 4, Lamar 3
Apr 13, 2014 at Beaumont, Texas (Thompson Family Tennis Center)
Singles competition1.
Micah Hermsdorf (ACU) def. Dariya Dashutina (LU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2.
Erin Walker (ACU) def. Carolina Masó (LU) 6-2, 7-6
3. Alicia Porte (LU) def.
Brittney Reed (ACU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Katya Lapayeva (LU) def.
Kaysie Hermsdorf (ACU) 6-1, 6-2
5.
Nada Marjanovic (ACU) def. Hanna Elfving (LU) 6-3, 6-2
6.
Emily Conrad (ACU) def. Anna Spengler (LU) 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition1. Alicia Porte/Carolina Masó (LU) def.
Kaysie Hermsdorf/
Micah Hermsdorf (ACU) 8-7
2.
Erin Walker/
Brittney Reed (ACU) def. Dariya Dashutina/Hanna Elfving (LU) 8-6
3. Katya Lapayeva/Anna Spengler (LU) def.
Nada Marjanovic/
Emily Conrad (ACU) 8-7
Match NotesAbilene Christian 15-4, 7-2 SLC
Lamar 6-12, 3-6 SLC
