TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's tennis will take on #2 seed St. Mary's in the semifinal round of the LSC postseason tournament after a big upset win on Thursday morning.
 
A BIG WIN
 
The Patriots went down by a 3-0 deficit before charging back with a series of three set victories and Leony Deutschmann closed out the Rattlers with a straight set victory to give the Patriots the win. That win gives UT Tyler their first postseason victory of the Division II era in their very first opportunity as they are postseason eligible for the first time.
 
Four different matches went to three sets on the day, and the Patriots were able to claim three of those to tie up the match. UT Tyler has shown grit all season long, and it was no different against the Rams.
 
SERIES HISTORY
 
This will be just the fourth time that UT Tyler and St. Mary's have met in women's tennis, and the Rattlers hold a 2-1 advantage all time. The very first match came back on March 2, 2007 and the Patriots came away with a 7-2 victory. Most recently, the two teams met just five days ago, and the Rattlers took home a 6-1 victory.
 
In that contest, the Rattlers swept the doubles portion but the Patriots kept it close. The lone Patriots point came from Dnyanada Patil as she collected a three set win by scores of 3-6, 6-3, 10-1.
 
THE SCOUTING REPORT
 
Ashley Penshorn leads the way for the Rattlers in singles, and was recently named as a member of the All-LSC First Team Singles team. Penshorn is 8-1 on the year in LSC competition and all nine of those contests have come in the #1 singles slot. She is riding a seven match winning streak heading into the match.
 
In doubles, it is the duo of Gabi Ioannou and Marina Vigil that leads St. Mary's. The pair was recently named to the All-LSC Honorable Mention Doubles team after going 6-2 during the conference slate. The pair have played in the #3 doubles slot all season and are riding a four match winning streak.
 
Bill Macom holds the reigns as Director of Tennis at St. Mary's. Macom previously served as the head coach at Florida Tech before making his way to St. Mary's in the summer of 2019. Under his supervision, the women's program made it to the NCAA Quarterfinals in the spring of 2021.
 
ON THE HORIZON
 
The winner of Friday morning's contest will advance into the LSC tournament championship game to be held on Saturday at 9:30 A.M. in Arlington, Texas at the Arlington Tennis Center. The winner will face the winner of the contest between Texas A&M-Kingsville and Cameron that will be taking place at the same time on Friday.
 
The winner of the LSC tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA South Central Regional tournament to be held on May 6-7 at a site to be determined.