Kingsville - Ahead of the all-important Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals, the Texas A&M Kingsville women's tennis team competed at the Islander Open in TAMUCC.
In the second tournament of their fall season, the Javelinas played against six other squads across two days, winning multiple matches against stiff competition.

"I think we took the opportunity to play some good players and the ladies competed very well," Head Coach Autumn Wollenzien said. "It's great preparation for next week."
The first victory of the weekend came from a 9 a.m. first-serve doubles match that saw redshirt senior Luna Jokanovic and junior Guadalupe Tocci take down one of the host Islanders' three doubles teams, 6-4.

Though the rest of the Javelinas' doubles pairings struggled, the team's second, and final, win of the day came at 11 a.m., when freshman Andrea Landaeta took down Lamar's Emma Palus in her singles draw, 7-6(7-4), 6-1. 

TAMUK took home a pair of wins in the Open's second day as well, with both of them coming in singles play. Anouk Terpin became the second freshman Javelina to take down Palus, losing just three total games along the way. Jokanovic came next, as the senior got her second win of the weekend courtesy of a hard-fought match from her Lamar foe, 7-6(7-5), 6-4. 

Despite TAMUK's win-loss record at the Open being less than ideal, Wollenzien said the difficult competition should help the Javelinas compete next weekend when they head to Arlington for ITA Regionals.

"At this point in the fall, no matter the outcome, I think every match is a positive experience," Wollenzien said. "We walk away from playing tough matches with gained experience. It's an opportunity to work on the small things."

ITA play will begin on Thursday at the Patriot Tennis Pavilion in Arlington, with the bracket being played out through Saturday.