Women's Tennis | 2/19/2015 10:18:00 PM

AUSTIN, Texas – The 32^nd-ranked St. Edward's Women's Tennis team picked up their third straight victory as they defeated # 45 Tarleton State, 8-1, Thursdat afternoon at the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts.
 
St. Edward's (3-1) started its doubles portion of the match with three-straight points. At No. 1 doubles, BROOKE HUGHES and Sasha Khadzyhan dropped the first game out of the gate, but proceeded to win eight of the next 10 games to come away with an 8-3 victory. Hughes and Khadzyhan are now 4-0 as a doubles tandem to start the 2015 season.
 
At No. 2 doubles, IVANA ZECEVIC and FRANCESCA CHAHER split the first two rounds with Ellie Stevens and Gabriella Jansson, 2-2. However, Zecevic and Chaher rallied to take the advantage and ultimately the game, 8-3. In No. 3 doubles, RAFAELA HAEGELE and MARISSA WILLIAMS broke out to an early advantage and never looked back as they defeated the team of Ariadna Cabezas-Marti and Erika Richarme by a score of 8-4.
 
The singles portion started with a couple of quick victories from Chaher and Zecevic. At No. 4, Zecevic, playing against her former team, pulled out a point for the Hilltoppers as she defeated Ellie Stevens 6-0, 6-0. Chaher took down her opponent Gabriella Jansson in the No. 5 spot by a score of 6-0, 6-3.  Khadzhyan took her combined record to 8-0, as she won her No. 2 singles match against Elward by a score of 6-0, 6-3.
 
Haegele and Luiza Ferrare Adas battled tooth and nail at the No. 3 spot, as Haegele won the first set by a score of 6-4. Adas battled back to win the second set to 6-3 and held a 9-6 advantage in the super set tiebreak. Haegele pulled out some impressive shots to take a 10-9 advantage, but eventually fell, 14-12.
 
Hughes made her second-straight come-from-behind victory as she defeated Erika Richarme at the No. 1 spot by the score of 3-6, 6-3 and 10-8. Hughes rallied back from 8-4 deficit in the tiebreaker to win the final six points of her match. Lastly, SUMMER BIGGS won her No. 6 matchup against Ariadna Cabezas-Marti 6-1, 6-1 to give the Hilltoppers an 8-1 victory.
 
Head Coach Kendall Brooks had high praise for her team after the victory, "Obviously we're happy with our performance, and 8-1 is obviously a good showing as we were great in doubles again." Brooks highlighted that her team's still preparing for what should be a great test to open conference. "We will travel to Dallas Baptist this Saturday for our first conference match.  Obviously, it's our first conference match and it's big for us. The fact it's our first road match and we're playing very well is great, but we'll need to continue to start strong if we want to continue to improve."
 
St. Edward's will take on Dallas Baptist this Saturday. The match is set to start at 2:00 p.m. at Kiest Park in Dallas, Texas. 
 
 
#32 St. Edward's 8, #45 Tarleton State 1
 
Singles competition
1. #49 BROOKE HUGHES (SEUWT) def. Erika Richarme (TSUWT) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
2. SASHA KHADZHYAN (SEUWT) def. Ashleigh Elward (TSUWT) 6-1, 6-3
3. Luiza Ferraro-Adas (TSUWT) def. RAFAELA HAEGELE (SEUWT) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (14-12)
4. IVANA ZECEVIC (SEUWT) def. Ellie Stevens (TSUWT) 6-0, 6-0
5. FRANCESCA CHAHER (SEUWT) def. Gabriella Jansson (TSUWT) 6-0, 6-3
6. SUMMER BIGGS (SEUWT) def. Ariandna Cabezas (TSUWT) 6-1, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. #24 BROOKE HUGHES/SASHA KHADZHYAN (SEUWT) def. Ashleigh Elward/Luiza Ferraro-Adas (TSUWT) 8-3
2. IVANA ZECEVIC/FRANCESCA CHAHER (SEUWT) def. Ellie Stevens/Gabriella Jansson (TSUWT) 8-3
3. RAFAELA HAEGELE/MARISSA WILLIAMS (SEUWT) def. Ariandna Cabezas/Erika Richarme (TSUWT) 8-4