San Antonio - The 10th-ranked Trinity University Women's Tennis Team won 4-3 in a tense but memorable matchup against the 12th-ranked MIT Engineers.
After only a short recovery from last night's demolition of the 23rd-ranked Gustavus Adolphus Gusties, the afternoon got off to a competitive start for the Tigers. After an impressive showing in the doubles last night, the Tigers unfortunately fell just short of winning the doubles point this afternoon with a 2-1 loss. First to finish was the experienced senior partnership of
Ellie Hughes (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) and
Olivia Kim (Phoenix, Arizona / Desert Mountain) at #1, where despite the scoreline showing a 6-1 loss, the performance reflected otherwise with the duo producing a competitive showing throughout, taking their opponents right to the end in each game. Next to finish was the #3 duo of
Ruth Hill (Abilene, Texas / Abilene) and first-year
Lauren Tin (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift), who continued their fine form from last night's showing and produced a dominant display, resulting in a 6-2 win and equalizing the doubles for the Tigers. This left the point in the hands of the skillful #2 partnership of
Rosabella Andrade (Southlake, Texas / Ponderosa) and
Trinity Levy (Camarillo, California / Weil Tennis Academy). The duo had a rough start to the match, going down 5-1, and faced an uphill battle from there. It looked at one point as if a comeback might be on as they pulled the match back to 5-3; however, they couldn't quite pull it off and lost the match 6-3 to hand the Engineers the doubles point.
Singles action started shortly after and made for a scintillating watch on this late Friday afternoon. First to finish was the first-year
Lucy Nabedrick (Plymouth, Minnesota / Wayzata) at #4, who fought hard but lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, unfortunately giving the Engineers a 2-0 lead. That lead didn't last for long as in stepped the experienced Hill at #1, who swiftly dealt with her opponent, winning 6-4, 6-3. To equalize the score line, next to finish was the powerful senior Hughes at #3. Hughes was taken to a third set after winning the first 6-4 and losing the second 6-2 but held her nerve and confidently won 6-2 in the third, drawing the Tigers level for the first time this afternoon and avenging her earlier doubles loss. Like Hughes, the talented Kim at #2, was also taken to a third set after losing the first 6-3, and winning the second 6-4, but unfortunately fell at the last hurdle losing in the third set 6-4 and giving the Engineers a 3-2 lead in the tie. This meant it was up to Levy at #5, and Andrade at #6, to bring the win home for the Tigers. Levy was the first of the two to finish, but by no means was this an easy encounter. After losing the first set in the tiebreak 7-6 (7-3), Levy faced an uphill battle to win from here and keep the Tigers in the hunt for the win. Levy never lost faith and confidently won the following two sets 6-3, 6-1 to draw the match level at 3-3. The win was now in the hands of Andrade. The match swung back and forth in a nail-biting encounter as Andrade won the first set 6-4, but then lost the second by the same margin, and so it was all left up to the third and final set of the afternoon. As the sun was setting over the
Butch Newman Tennis Center, Andrade fought to a 7-5 win in the third set, giving the Tigers an impressive 4-3 comeback win in the ranked matchup against the MIT Engineers.
Up Next
The 10th-ranked Trinity University Women's Tennis team are back at home on Tuesday, March 11th, as they face off against the Occidental College (CA) Tigers at 10:00 a.m.
