| Sophomore Caroline Dedering cinched the win for UTSA on Saturday. |
THIBODAUX, La. ? The UTSA women’s tennis team swept Nicholls in singles play en route to a 6-0 win on Saturday in the Southland Conference opener for both schools.
Due to the likelihood of rain, the two teams agreed to skip doubles play and start the match in singles. With the match already decided, doubles play became unnecessary later on.
UTSA improved to 6-4 with the win, while the Colonels dropped their first match of the season (2-1).
“I was really happy with how we played today,” head coach Erin Boisclair said. “Nicholls is a good team that has given us a tough match the last couple of times we played them. I was really proud of the ladies’ attitude today. They came out and competed hard. It’s a different mindset when you skip doubles and jump right into singles. We had one rain delay during the match, but the ladies stayed focused and played hard all the way through.”
Junior Holly Phillips was the first Roadrunner on the board with her victory over Sumana Kalyanasundram, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4 singles. Senior Monika Drabkova wrapped up her No. 3 match with a win, 6-2, 6-1, giving the Runners a quick 2-0 lead.
At No. 5, freshman Micaela Silva defeated Ciska Wouters, 6-2, 6-4. Sophomore Caroline Dedering sealed the match for UTSA when she beat Nicole September at No. 6, 6-2, 6-2.
Nos. 1 and 2 singles both split the first two sets, but with the Roadrunners having already won the competition, each match played a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the winner. Senior Karen Scida had to rally back after dropping the first set to Florina Nosca, 6-4, taking the second set, 6-4, and winning the tiebreaker 11-9.
Senior Nathalie Wallin then defeated Natalia Zomora, 3-6, 6-4, 10-5, for her ninth win in a row.
“It would have been easy for Karen and Nathalie to let up a little bit knowing that we already had the win, but they continued to play hard and see their matches through," Boisclair said. "I think that shows a lot about their attitude and desire today.”
The Roadrunners will be back in action at 10 a.m. on Sunday when they play at Southeastern Louisiana.