KINGSVILLE, Texas – The No. 34 Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis program will bring the 2019 Lone Star Conference schedule to a close starting on Friday, April 12, after heading out on the road to take on Cameron in Lawton, Okla., and will follow up with a match against No. 35 MSU Texas on Saturday, April 13, in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The Javelinas took a step back to the No. 34 spot in the ITA Rankings following a 1-1 weekend that featured a hard-fought loss to then-No. 21 Angelo State at 4-3, but ended on a high note with a 7-0 clean sweep of UT Permian Basin.
Senior
Phonephathep Philavong (Vientiane, Laos) lead the Blue and Gold efforts on the court as she went 4-0 on the weekend with identical 2-0 records in doubles and singles play. She paired up with junior
Victoria Romanovskaia (Simferopol, Crimea, Russia) at the third tandem and extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches in the doubles portion.
The duo combined to take down Virginie Becht and Maria Delgadillo at 6-3 in the ASU matchup before coming away with a 6-2 mark over Melissa Ariza and Jessica Madamba in the UTPB contest.
Philavong followed that up with wins over the Falcons' Ariza and the Rambelles' Ena Ovcina at the second singles flight to complete her perfect week. She downed Ariza in straight sets after taking the win over Ovcina in three.
On the year, Philavong is 4-6 in singles play, 3-1 in LSC contests. Junior
Julia Rauer (Leiselheim, Germany) leads the group with a 13-1 mark, 4-0 in LSC play, as she is 8-0 at the fifth singles flight while the Javelinas at 14-0 as a team at the position.
Classmate
Valerie Ruiz (San Antonio, Texas) is not far behind as she is 10-2 in singles play, 3-0 in the LSC, while the pairing of Philavong and Romanovskaia lead the doubles portion with an 11-2 record.
Cameron is sitting at 7-11 on the year after dropping three of its last five matches, including a 4-3 loss to Angelo State. The Aggies feature a 3-1 mark in conference play with a 4-3 win over Tarleton, a 6-1 win over UTPB and a 5-2 win over Western New Mexico.
Sarah Frendo leads the team with a 12-4 mark in singles play, all at the top flight, with a 4-0 record in LSC contests. She stands as the only Aggie with a winning record in singles play and primarily pairs with Sara Petric in doubles for an 8-3 record.
The duo of Alisa Savina and Rebeka Velasova owns a 9-1 record as a tandem to pace CU in the doubles portion of the matchup, but the team features a 23-25 mark overall in the first three flights of the match.
MSU Texas, currently one spot behind TAMUK in the ITA rankings, is 11-5 on the year, 2-1 in LSC matches, after going 2-1 in their last three contests. The Mustangs fell to the Rambelles at 4-2 but rebounded with identical 7-0 wins over WNMU and UTPB.
Four members of MSU Texas own singles records with at least 10 wins, led by Greata Lazzarotto's 11-3 mark and followed closely by Lea Cizeron, Casie Curry and Juliette Mary all with 10 wins.
In doubles play, Cizeron and Mary lead the way with a 10-4 mark at the third tandem while Lazzarotto and Bianca Duff are second on the team with a 6-5 record.
The matchup against Cameron is set for 2 p.m. CT in Lawton, Okla., at the Streich-Henry Tennis Complex on Friday, April 12.
To keep up-to-date with Javelina tennis, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaSports or on Twitter @JavelinaTennis
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