KINGSVILLE, Texas – Only three matches remain on the regular season schedule for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team, but the Javelinas will get to play all three at home and that closing stretch starts on Saturday, when they'll welcome in the UT Tyler Patriots to the Javelina Tennis Courts for a match scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
The Javelinas' quest to build momentum as they near the start of the Lone Star Conference Tournament began on April 9th, when they scored a 6-1 victory over the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions, putting their LSC record at 3-3. That mark currently guarantees the Javs a spot in the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin on April 28th.
All three of TAMUK's conference victories so far in 2022 have started with the Javs defeating their opponent in doubles play. Against UAFS, match's opening point was secured when sophomores Milou ter Morsche (Goor, Netherlands) and Noemi Sante (Dusseldorf, Germany) won the third flight and No. 2 match went to sophomore Alessa Maier (Hechingen, Germany) and freshman Manuela Turolo (Cividale del Friuli, Italy), 6-2.
Sante and ter Morsche have now captured two of their last three doubles contests, including a 6-4 win over a pair from DBU on April 2nd in TAMUK's last home match. Maier and Turolo won both of their contests during their team's final regular season road trip and a triumph on Saturday would make them the first Blue and Gold tandem to reach double figures in wins. Their recent strong is evidenced by a 7-3 record in their last 10 matches.
On the singles side, Maier and ter Morsch have continued to provide the Javelinas with excellent play and both own 11-5 records. Over their last 10 singles matches, these two own a combined record of 17-3. ter Morsche has now collected at least 10 wins in each of her first two seasons in Kingsville and her combined record in conference play is a sparkling 12-2. Maier's 2022 LSC record is identical to ter Morsche's at 4-1 and she's spent four weeks inside the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Top 75 singles rankings, rising as high as 55th in the nation, the highest ranking ever achieved by a Javelina.
For the Patriots, this will be their fourth straight match away from home and they're also attempting to rebound from back-to-back losses. UTT currently sits in fifth place in the LSC, just a half-game ahead of the Javelinas in the conference standings.
The most consistent player on coach Adam Cohen's roster in 2022 has been freshman Leony Deutschmann. No Patriots can claim as many victories as Deutschmann's 12 and that number includes a stretch earlier in the year in which she won six of seven. One of those triumphs was a straight sets win against Cameron's Leo Manga, who owned the No. 64 spot in the ITA' singles rankings. In doubles competition, Deutschmann has spent the majority of her time at the No. 1 flight and she's been part of a tandem that's won four of their last five in the top doubles spot.
Be sure to check back on Javelinaathletics.com for a recap of all the action on Saturday. To keep up with Javelina tennis throughout the season, follow @JavelinaTennis on Twitter and Instagram, like the Javelina Sports Facebook page, subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
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