WINTER PARK, FLA – The UT Tyler men's and women's tennis programs took to the court on Wednesday afternoon to face off against strong competition in Rollins, but were unable to hold serve as the Tars took both matches.
 
On the women's side of the match, Brooklyn Ross and Chloe Chawner gave the Patriots the first step towards earning the doubles point, taking their match by a set score of 6-3. That led to Chloe Dix and Gaini Ibrasheva, who paired up in the #3 doubles position. It was a tight contest that was forced into a tiebreaker, but Rollins came away with the set by a score of 7-6 (7-5).  
 
That put all of the pressure on the duo of Delara Zamani and Leony Deutschmann. The pair faced off against the 19^th ranked doubles partnership in women's Division II tennis, and gave it all they had. This match was forced into a tiebreaker, but the Tars ultimately pulled it out by a score of 7-6 (7-2). That gave Rollins the crucial doubles point as they headed into singles play.
 
Rollins got started in singles by taking the #1 singles match and earning their second point. Georgina Groth took down Zamani for the second point of the match as Zamani unfortunately had to withdraw. The Patriots responded quickly, as Deutschmann put the first point on the board for UT Tyler with a strong 6-4, 6-3 victory to make the score 2-1.
 
Chawner took part in the #6 singles position, and battled it out against Natalia Collado Cord. Chawner took the opening set by a score of 6-3, but Collado Cord responded with a 6-4 victory in set two to pull even. In the third and deciding set, it was Collado Cord taking the match by a score of 6-3 and putting the third point on the board for Rollins.
 
With the Patriots on the ropes, Tanvikhaa Saravanan answered the call and delivered a point to keep the Patriots alive. She won the first set 6-3 over her opponent Maria McKay, but dropped the second set by a score of 6-4. In the final set, it was all Saravanan, putting together a strong display to take the set by a score of 6-2.
 
With the score at 3-2, Ross had the chance to tie the match at three points each, but was unable to finish and had to withdraw. That gave the Tars their fourth point and the match by a score of 4-2.
 
On the men's side, the Tars were able to take the doubles point after sweeping the three doubles matches. Mortiz Mayer and Leon Sell paired up in the #3 slot, but were taken down by a score of 6-1. In the #2 doubles position, Egor Shestakov and Safar Rasulove paired up and fought a tough match, but ultimately fell by a score of 6-4. Joaquin Bianchi and Gonzalo Fernandez Gil paired up in the #1 doubles slot, but even after forcing the extra game, the pair fell by a score of 7-5.
 
With the doubles point firmly in hand, the Tars set their eyes on completing the victory while UT Tyler looked to bounce back. Shestakov was the first man up in the #5 singles position, but couldn't get it going against Mortiz Stenzer and fell by scores of 6-1, 6-4.
 
Yudai Watanabe battled in the #4 singles slot after not participating in the doubles portion of the contest. He faced off against Mikkel Baumann, but fell by scores of 6-2, 6-4. That left the match up to Rasulov, who faced off against Efe Comu. Comu had the upper hand, and won the match 6-3, 6-3 to take the fourth and final point for the Tars.
 
The Patriots next will match up against Ferris State at 4 p.m. on Thursday. That match will be in Orlando, Florida and will round out the spring break trip for UT Tyler. Following that contest, the Patriots will host Auburn Montgomery on March 18^th for their first home match of the season and it is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.