CORPUS CHRISTI – Abilene Christian's women's tennis season reached its conclusion Friday in the semifinal round of the Southland Conference Championship, falling 4-3 to Player of the Year Sahaja Yamalapalli and the Sam Houston State Bearkats.
ACU (15-10) won the doubles point in exciting fashion as the No. 2 tandem of freshman
Allison Stewart and
Jordan Henry edged Yamalapalli and Isidora Zivkovic 7-6 (3) to break the 1-1 deadlock. The Wildcats lost the first doubles match at No. 1, 6-2, but sophomore Ilena Mocciola and
Autumn Crossnoe Bellow evened matters with their 6-3 win over Karla DeLaLuz Montalvo and Petra Kaszas.
Henry and Stewart finished their season competing together at 8-4, while the duos of Mocciola/Bellow, and
Sarah Adams and
Nini Memishishi registered identical records of 15-9.
The Bearkats, however, would not trail long as they won their first three singles matches. Yamalapall defeated Memishishi, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 1, and at lines 5 and 6, Roos Gerritsen and Petra Kaszas avenged their regular-season losses to Wildcats Stewart and Mocciola. Gerritsen handed Stewart her first conference loss of the season through 13 matches, 6-3, 6-3, and Mocciola lost to Kaszas at No. 6, 6-4, 6-3.
The Wildcats battled back to tie the score at 3-3. First Sara Adams dropped Zivkovic, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), and then Bellow topped Montalvo, 6-4, 6-4, for the second time this year in improving to 13-12 on the year.
All eyes then turned to court No. 4 where Lusine Chobanyan and
Jordan Henry were engaged in their third set. Chobanyan won the first set. Henry captured the second, but Chobanyan held on long enough to win the decisive set, 6-2, in sending her team to Saturday's championship match where they'll face Central Arkansas. The Bears today shutout Northwestern State, 4-0.
Chobanyan also bested Henry in Abilene during their March 8 regular-season meeting, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
The last three duals between ACU and Sam Houston State all have been decided by one point.
Sam Houston State 4, Abilene Christian 3
4/26/2019 at Corpus Christi, TX (Thomas J Henry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Sahaja Yamalapalli (SHSU) def.
Nini Memishishi (ACU) 6-1, 6-2
2.
Sarah Adams (ACU) def. Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
3.
Autumn Crossnoe Bellow (ACU) def. K DeLaLuz Montalvo (SHSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) def.
Jordan Henry (ACU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Roos Gerritsen (SHSU) def.
Allison Stewart (ACU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Petra Kaszas (SHSU) def.
Ileana Mocciola (ACU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Roos Gerritsen/Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) def.
Sarah Adams/
Nini Memishishi (ACU) 6-2
2.
Allison Stewart/
Jordan Henry (ACU) def. Sahaja Yamalapalli/Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) 7-6 (3)
3.
Ileana Mocciola/
Autumn Crossnoe Bellow (ACU) def. K DeLaLuz Montalvo/Petra Kaszas (SHSU) 6-3
Match Notes
Sam Houston State 15-7
Abilene Christian 15-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,5,6,2,3,4)
