The men’s tennis team won twice over the weekend, defeating Alabama State 6-1 on Saturday, March 3, before shutting out Austin Peay 7-0 the next day while the women lost 2-5 to Austin Peay.
Opening the weekend against the Hornets in Montgomery, Alabama, the Owls were involved in a tight, competitive match despite the scoreline. The Owls asserted their dominance early, sweeping the three doubles matches as Lucas de Torres Curth and Fermin Calvo Barcelo paired up to seal the doubles point with a close 7-6 victory.
In singles, the Owls maintained their focus and had two comeback wins. The first three matches involved straight-set victories.
Corey Smith endured a difficult 7-5 first set but finished off his opponent 6-1 in the second. De Torres Curth had a relatively easy first set before having to fight through a 7-6 tiebreaker in the second.
After Calvo Barcelo clinched the overall victory for the Owls winning two sets 7-5 and 6-2, Drew Lahey and Brian Triana came back from a set down to win their respective matches.
The Owls continued their momentum the next day at home, defeating Austin Peay 7-0 in another contest that involved close matches. With the win, the men’s team earned its third straight victory and improved to a 3-5 overall record.
After another doubles point clinched by de Torres Curth and Calvo Barcelo helped put the Owls ahead, six straight singles wins sealed the game. Smith and de Torres Curth both had three-set victories in singles matches with final sets of 10-4 and 10-5 while Harrison Wood rebounded from a scoreless second set to win his match.
“Today’s match was a lot closer than the final scores shows,” said director of tennis Eduardo Rincon. “We had to fight for every point.”
“We got off to a slow start in doubles [against Austin Peay], but Fermin and Lucas were able to help us clinch the doubles point again,” Rincon added. “In singles, I thought we played a clean match. All six of our guys took care of their business.”
The women’s team fell to Austin Peay 2-5 on Sunday, falling to a 1-9 record on the season.
Jessica Cantrell and Aspen Jarrett won their matches for the Owls as Cantrell went up against a familiar foe in Ana Albertson and defeated her 4-3. Despite five matches being dropped, the two Owls pushed their opponents to the seventh game needed to win the set.
“I am happy for Jessica,” said assistant head coach Miranda Foley. “She fought hard to win a match over a good player that she faced many times in her junior career. As a team, I was disappointed in our execution. I am looking forward to getting back out there in front of our fans at home on Tuesday.”
The men’s team travels to Jacksonville State on Wednesday, March 5, while the women’s team plays Ball State at home on Thursday.
