Women's Tennis | 2/16/2016 7:49:00 PM

Box Score

WACO, Texas – St. Edward's Women's Tennis faced No. 2 Tyler Junior College on Tuesday afternoon and fell 6-3, but VALENTINA MARTINEZ and ELISA GUILLEN both scored impressive wins for the Hilltoppers.
 
Martinez played No. 5 singles, and took on the No. 41 singles player in NJCAA. She walked away with a come-from-behind victory in three sets. Guillen, in the No. 6 singles slot, took down her opponent in straight sets. In doubles action, IVANA ZECEVIC and LAURA GALVAN took a point at No. 3, and moved to 12-1 on the year. With their wins in singles, Martinez and Guillen both improve to 3-1, tied for the team lead this spring.
 
As a squad, the Hilltoppers moved to 2-2 after a full week off of action. The Apaches improve to 3-3 on the season.
 
"Both teams played great tennis today," said head coach Kendall Brooks. "I think this was exactly what we needed as we enter the part of our season that "counts". Elisa and Val were definitely the highlights of today. Both ladies played extremely well, and fought hard in doubles and singles."
 
The day opened with a pair of tough matchups for the Hilltoppers. In No. 1 doubles, ANJALI SAMPATH and MARISSA WILLIAMS faced the third-best doubles team in the nation, and fell 8-0. The win for Zecevic and Galvan evened the match at one. However, at No. 2 doubles, Martinez and Guillen faced the NJCAA's ninth-ranked team. They pushed the Apaches to the max, but fell 8-6.
 
Heading into singles play, the Hilltoppers only trailed by a point, but straight-set losses at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles put the match in jeopardy. Tyler JC clinched the match with a win at No. 4. However, the excitement was far from gone.
 
Guillen put St. Edward's in the win column with her 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 6, and Williams looked to score a huge upset at No. 3, facing the 12^th-ranked player in the country. Unfortunately a third-set score of 11-9 did not go in her favor. Martinez ended the day on a high note with her win, taking the second and third sets, 6-3, 7-6 (3) after falling 2-6 in the first.
 
Coach Brooks and her team return to the hilltop this weekend for homecoming with a match against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday. Heartland Conference play opens on Saturday as the Hilltoppers host UT-Permian Basin, starting at 10 a.m. Live stats for both matches will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.