Women's Tennis | 3/5/2016 9:52:00 PM
Box ScoreAUSTIN, Texas – At one point on Saturday morning, St. Edward's Women's Tennis trailed No. 42 Dallas Baptist, 3-1, but made a comeback of notable proportions to defeat the Patriots, 5-4 at the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts.
ELISA GUILLEN played the hero, as she won the deciding match in three sets after falling behind, 0-1. The singles victory improves Guillen to 9-1 on the season, and ties her with
VALENTINA MARTINEZ for the team lead in wins. Martinez also won her match to help the Hilltoppers come from behind. In doubles, St. Edward's lone point came from none other than
IVANA ZECEVIC and
LAURA GALVAN. The duo is now 10-0 this spring.
With the win, the Hilltoppers stay undefeated at 2-0 in Heartland Conference and regional play. Overall, the team is 7-3, with three wins over nationally-ranked opponents. Dallas Baptist falls to 3-4 overall, and 1-1 in the conference.
"I'm so proud of this team today," said head coach Kendall Brooks. "We came out and did not play well in doubles. We looked a little flat, and tentative, which is understandable on our third-consecutive day. I knew Dallas Baptist was going to bring its best against us, and I wasn't sure how we would respond. We really pulled together as a team, and went out, and refused to lose. As a freshman, in her first experience with the match on the line, Elisa was rock solid. Even after she lost the first set. I couldn't be more proud and happy for her, and for this team. This is a big win for us."
From the outset, Dallas Baptist showed it was a force to be reckoned with. The Patriots scored two quick points with wins at No. 2 and No. 1 doubles before Zecevic and Galvan could get the home team on the board.
Momentum stayed in DBU's favor at the start of singles as they grabbed a 3-1 lead with a victory at No. 4 singles. Zecevic responded with a win of her own at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-1. However, the Patriots moved to clinch after taking No. 1 singles off of the home team.
Trailing 4-2, with no room for error, the Hilltoppers came roaring back in the match. Martinez cruised to victory at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-1, to pull St. Edward's within one, and Galvan tied it up at four with her straight-set win at No. 3. This put Guillen in her biggest battle of the season. She dropped set one, 3-6, but came back with a victory in set two, 6-2. However, the deciding set would be no contest as the freshman carried her team to victory, 6-0.
With their three-match swing in three days behind them, Coach Brooks and her team get six days off before traveling to Midland, Texas for a match with Western New Mexico next Friday. Play is set to begin at 1 p.m.
