Women's Tennis | 2/8/2015 12:19:00 AM

AUSTIN, Texas – The 32-ranked St. Edward's women's tennis team swept Texas Lutheran Saturday afternoon, 9-0. The victory was St. Edward's first of the season.
 
St. Edward's (1-1) made a statement early in the doubles portion of the match as they dominated in each of its three matches. At No. 1 doubles, SASHA KHADZHYAN and BROOKE HUGHES defeated the team of Sofia Vega and Alli Mclain by a score of 8-2. Fran Chaher and IVANA ZECEVIC made quick work of Caitlin Zarr and Brooke Taylor at No. 2 as they won by a final count of 8-2. MARISSA WILLIAMS and RAFAELA HAEGELE did not concede a single game as they took down Joni Bakley and Ashlynn Long at No. 3, 8-0.
 
St. Edward's continued to stay aggressive and came out of the brief intermission with great intensity. As singles play began, a terrific match between No. 1 Khadzhyan and Vega unfolded as Vega stole the first set by a score of 2-6. Khadzhyan fought back to win the second set 6-3 and rallied to win the super set 10-4. This was the second-straight come-from-behind victory for Khadzhyan to open the season.
 
Haegele won her match against Mclain by a score of 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 and Chaher swept Taylor 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. SUMMER BIGGS was victorious in her No. 5 match as she defeated Bakley by a score of 6-0, 6-3 to secure the victory. Zecevic won her first collegiate singles match in the No. 3 spot as she beat Zarr in a very tidy 6-0, 6-1 score.VANESSA CAMARA also notched her first singles victory in memorable fashion as she won her No. 6 spot 6-0, 6-0.
 
Head Coach Kendall Brooks was satisfied with her team's performance, saying that, "I think our team did a good job of staying focused and doing the work today to get us our first win of the season." She went on to say that, "Winning all nine matches is not easy, and it took a collective effort across the board."
 
Brooks also reiterated that her team has plenty that they can work on. "With our first couple of matches under our belt, we can now go to work on the things that stood out, positive and negative, this weekend to prepare for moving forward towards Trinity next week."
 
St. Edward's will host Trinity next Friday, February 13. Matches will start at 2:00 pm from the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts.
 
Singles competition
 
1. SASHA KHADZHYAN (SEUWT) def. Sofia Vega (TLUWT) 2-6, 6-3, 10-4
2. RAFAELA HAEGELE (SEUWT) def. Alli Mclain (TLUWT) 6-1, 6-3
3. IVANA ZECEVIC (SEUWT) def. Caitlin Zarr (TLUWT) 6-0, 6-1
4. Fran Chaher (SEUWT) def. Brooke Taylor (TLUWT) 6-0, 6-0
5. SUMMER BIGGS (SEUWT) def. Joni Bakley (TLUWT) 6-0, 6-3
6. VANESSA CAMARA (SEUWT) def. Ashlynn Long (TLUWT) 6-0, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
 
1. SASHA KHADZHYAN/BROOKE HUGHES (SEUWT) def. Sofia Vega/Alli Mclain (TLUWT) 8-2
2. Fran Chaher/IVANA ZECEVIC (SEUWT) def. Caitlin Zarr/Brooke Taylor (TLUWT) 8-2
3. MARISSA WILLIAMS/RAFAELA HAEGELE (SEUWT) def. Joni Bakley/Ashlynn Long (TLUWT) 8-0