The Basics
-Score: St. Mary's 5, St. Edward's 4
-Records: #31 St. Edward's 8-4: #28 St. Mary's 13-4
-Location: San Antonio, Texas (St. Mary's Tennis Courts)
 
How It Happened
-St. Edward's started the match with two wins in a doubles action for a 2-1 lead. PAIGE RACHEL and Rafaela Hagele easily handled their opponents at the number two position, 8-2, while Francesca Chahor and KATHERINE SULLIVAN won a thriller, 9-8 in a tiebreaker at the number three position.
-In singles play, the Hilltoppers got wins from Hagele at number four and from Chahor at number five. They would come up one point short as they dropped the other four singles matches.
 
St. Mary's 5, St. Edward's 4
Doubles competition
1. Mariana Rong/Ariana Saldana (STMUWT) def. SASHA KHADZHYAN/FLORENCE BOINON (SEUWT) 8-2
2. PAIGE RACHEL/RAFAELA HAEGELE (SEUWT) def. Christina Lopez/Felecity Delgado (STMUWT) 8-2
3. Francesca Chahor/KATHERINE SULLIVAN (SEUWT) def. Joanie Bryant/Valentine Lambrechts (STMUWT) 9-8
Singles competition
1. Mariana Rong (STMUWT) def. SASHA KHADZHYAN (SEUWT) 6-0, 6-1
2. Christina Lopez (STMUWT) def. PAIGE RACHEL (SEUWT) 6-4, 6-1
3. Felecity Delgado (STMUWT) def. FLORENCE BOINON (SEUWT) 6-4, 6-4
4. RAFAELA HAEGELE (SEUWT) def. Valentine Lambrechts (STMUWT) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0
5. Francesca Chahor (SEUWT) def. Ariana Saldana (STMUWT) 7-5, 6-4
6. Joanie Bryant (STMUWT) def. KATHERINE SULLIVAN (SEUWT) 7-6, 6-2
 
Beyond the Box Score
-St. Edward's had its four-match winning streak snapped. It was also just the second time St. Mary's has defeated the Hilltoppers since both teams joined NCA Division II. St. Edward's owns an 18-2 record in the all-time series and had won 17 straight against the Rattlers.
-Both Rafaela Hagele and Francesca Chahor have five-match winning streaks in singles action.
 
Courtside with Coach Niemeyer
Coach Niemeyer's comments on today's victory:
“St. Mary's is a much improved team with five new players! It was a good match today.”
 
Up Next
St. Edward's will be back in action Tuesday when they open up a four-match home stand. The Hilltoppers will host Tarleton State at 2 p.m. at the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts.