Women's Tennis | 4/15/2016 9:13:00 PM
Box ScoreAUSTIN, Texas –
ANJALI SAMPATH and
MARISSA WILLIAMS scored a huge upset for St. Edward's Women's Tennis over the 23
rd-ranked doubles team in the country, but the Hilltoppers could not pull of the upset over 20
th-ranked Midwestern State on Friday at the Strohmeyer Varsity Tennis Courts, falling 5-4.
Sampath's and Williams' win at No. 1 doubles highlighted a huge bounce-back day after getting swept by 17
th-ranked Cameron on Thursday. Williams finished the day 2-0 on the court, and now has 13 wins in singles on the year.
VALENTINA MARTINEZ and
LAURA GALVAN each notched their 19
th win in singles. They both lead the team at 19-7 and 19-9, respectively.
As a team, the Hilltoppers are now 14-6 overall, and 8-2 in the South Central Region. Midwestern State uses the win to improve to 15-7.
"I am usually pretty upset after a loss, and I'm not saying it doesn't sting, but I'm really proud of the team today," said head coach Kendall Brooks. "We fought our guts out today on every court. Even when we were down 4-1, and trailing a set in our matches, we continued to fight. To bounce back after yesterday, and play this team so close, is a testament to these girls and their resiliency. We have one more match to focus on for the regular-season conference championship, and we will be going to work to prepare for that."
The Mustangs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in doubles by taking No. 3 and No. 2 by scores of 8-6 and 8-2. However, the match Midwestern may have thought was a lock, proved to be a spark plug for St. Edward's. Sampath and Williams fought brilliantly against their nationally-ranked opponent at No. 1 and came out with a 9-7 triumph to make it 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
Singles started with momentum on the Mustang's side as well. The Hilltoppers dropped No. 2 and No. 1 singles, putting the match in peril; but St. Edward's would not go quietly.
Galvan dominated her match at No. 4, 6-1, 6-3, and Williams fought and clawed her way to a three-set win at No. 3, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1. Martinez won in come-from-behind fashion at No. 5, 1-6, 6-4 6-4, to tie the match at four. Unfortunately, straight sets decided the No. 6 match, and gave Midwestern State the win.
Coach Brooks and her team return to the Strohmeyer Varsity Courts for one last time this season next Saturday against St. Mary's. The match starts at 10 a.m., and the winner will be crowned the Heartland Conference regular-season champion. Live stats will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
