KINGSVILLE, Texas – After a regular season meeting that came to down to the final point in the day's last singles match, the fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team and the fourth-seeded Midwestern State Mustangs will meet for the second time in 2022 on Thursday in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with the match scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. in Arlington, Texas at the Arlington Tennis Center.
The initial matchup between TAMUK and MSU came April 1st, when the teams met in Kingsville for a match that ended 4-3 in the Mustangs favor. The Javelinas' points came from sophomores Noemi Sante (Dusseldorf, Germany), Milou ter Morsche (Goor, Netherlands) and Alessa Maier (Hechingen, Germany), but the Mustangs earned the match's first point in doubles action, then took the final one in a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 decision in the sixth flight.
With the cancellation of the last two LSC Tournaments, this makes four straight postseasons that the Javs have met MSU, a streak that dates back to the 2017 event. The Mustangs won each of the previous three matchups, with the closest TAMUK came to a win coming in 2018, when coach Autumn Wollenzien's bunch took the matches in the fifth and sixth flights, but their opponents managed to hold on for a 5-2 victory.
The group of Javelinas hoping to end that trend includes Maier, who was recently named to the All-LSC First-Team and is riding a four-match win streak. Maier has not lost consecutive sets in nearly two months and that run includes her 6-2, 6-1 triumph against MSU's Hannah Yip in the No. 2 flight. Her overall record stands at 14-5 and she's aiming to become the 11th player under Wollenzien's watch to reach 15 victories in a season.
The Blue and Gold student-athletes joining Maier with double figures in the win column include ter Morsche, Sante and freshman Manuela Turolo (Cividale del Friuli, Italy). ter Morsche has put together a record of 23-12 for the Javs over the last two years and she finished the 2022 regular season by going 7-2 in her last nine opportunities. Turolo ended the regular year with four consecutive triumphs, all in straight sets, and Sante has four victories in her last six tries in both singles and doubles matches.
The Mustangs have put together a 19-7 mark in coach Scott Linn's 12th season and they're seeking a fourth straight LSC Tournament title, having taken home the crown in 2017, 2018 and 2019. They're also attempting to return to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year, a streak that dates back to 2013.
The all-conference roster included three Mustangs, with senior Casey Curry joining Maier on the first-team and the tandem of Yin and Anda Ghinga were chosen for the All-LSC Doubles First-Team. Curry is one of four Mustangs who's reached the 15-win plateau and her 18-5 mark includes and 11-match win streak that stretched from March 11th – April 1st. Curry also picked up an All-LSC Doubles Second-Team honor after spending most of the teamed with Emilija Visic in the No. 2 flight, where the tandem posted a 17-2 record.
For results and a recap of Thursday's match, be sure to check Javelinaathletics.com. 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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