Men's Tennis | 4/2/2015 10:04:00 AM
ABILENE - Abilene Christian's men's and women's tennis teams are on the road today and Friday to finish their week with duals against McNeese and Nicholls.
The women will face the Cowgirls Thursday at 2 p.m. before joining the men in Thibodaux, La. for a 10:30 a.m. doubleheader with the Colonels.
Nicholls and McNeese begin today just a few percentage points behind the Southland leaders from Stephen F. Austin (4-0). The Colonels are 14-4 overall, which includes a 6-1 mark vs. the league, while the Cowgirls own records of 9-5 and 5-1.
ACU (7-2, 3-2) defeated each of these programs at home last season and will have to do so again in order to jump them in the standings. The Wildcats started 2-0 in conference play with home wins vs. New Orleans and Incarnate Word, but then lost back-to-back decisions on the road to the Ladyjacks and Northwestern State.
Last Friday in Abilene the Wildcats returned to the win column following a convincing 6-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana outdoors at the Eager Tennis Pavilion. ACU won the doubles point and claimed five of six singles matches led by their youngsters
Carli Knezevich,
Lucile Pothier,
Erin Walker and
Whitney Williams.
All four helped the Wildcats clinch the doubles point before going on to win their singles matches in straight sets.
Williams won her fourth straight at the No. 5 position after coasting past Dany Raygadas, 6-3, 6-2, but the team's longest individual winning streak still belongs to junior
Nada Marjanovic, who improved to 8-0 following her 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 6 vs. Vorotnikova.
Further up the lineup, junior
Kaysie Hermsdorf remained the team leader in victories with nine after holding off Lucia Bustamante at No. 2, 6-3, 5-7, 10-4.
ACU's men's match at Nicholls is its first dual in close to two weeks and their first conference battle since edging Incarnate Word, 4-3, on March 6.
There are only six men's teams in the Southland Conference - compared with 12 on the women's side - and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is the current leader at 2-0 followed by 2-1 New Orleans and the 1-1 Wildcats, who are 8-13 overall.
Nicholls (7-8) is a half game behind ACU at 1-2 after going 1-1 last weekend vs. Incarnate Word (W, 4-3) and Corpus Christi (L, 0-4). The Colonels also lost earlier the season to New Orleans, 6-1.
The Wildcats are led in singles this season by sophomore
Nico Agritelley, who has won his last two to improve to 14-7, and junior
Marco Bensley, who is 12-8 and in the midst of a team-best three-match winning streak.
On the doubles court, Agritelley and senior
Guilherme Gesser have gone 8-6 at No. 1, while freshman
Henry Adams and junior
Jason Proctor are 6-0 at the No. 2 position.
