Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ABILENE, TEXAS – UT Tyler tennis split their matches with Northwest Missouri State as the #5 men picked up a 4-1 win and the #22 ranked women fell just short in a 4-2 defeat.
Saturday's matches were originally scheduled to be played in Wichita Falls, but due to ongoing weather in the area the teams elected to travel to Abilene and play on indoor courts.
The #5 men's program would come out of the gates firing, picking up a pair of dominant doubles wins in the #1 and #2 lines to move ahead 1-0.
Carel Wessel and
Daniil Felker earned a 6-1 win in line #1, and
Artiom Dorofeev and
Malo Poulesquen earned a 6-0 win in line #2.
In singles, The Patriots would continue their run of form as Dorofeev went for a straight sets 6-2, 6-2 win in line #2 to put the Patriots on the board yet again. He would be followed by Poulequen, as he added a 6-4, 6-3 straight sets win of his own to put the Patriots at match point and a 3-0 lead.
The Bearcats would grab a gritty win in line #1 to get themselves on the board that took three sets, but
Martin Despodov would cap off the Patriots efforts with a 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 straight sets win in dramatic fashion to seal a 4-1 victory for the Patriots on Saturday.
On the women's side, the Bearcats would get out to the early advantage as they claimed the #1 and #3 doubles lines to take a 1-0 lead.
In those singles matches,
Paula Castellanos quickly pulled the Patriots back into a deadlock as she took a 6-1, 6-0 straight sets win in line #4. Just behind her was teammate
Natalia Gorzny, who delivered a 6-4, 6-4 straight sets win in line #2 to put the Patriots out in front after just two singles matches.
The Bearcats would battle back to even in the #1 line, as they earned a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 win to make it a 2-2 score with the final three matches on the courts.
Allison Schwartz would battle in the #3 line and took the first set 6-4, but the Bearcats found a spot of momentum and evened that match at one set each with a 6-0 win. That set up a deciding third set, where the Bearcats squeaked out a 7-5 win to move ahead 3-2.
The Bearcats would add one final win in line #5, ultimately earning a 4-2 win over the Patriots on Saturday.
UT Tyler will be back in action on Sunday, as they will next face off with Newman back in Wichita Falls at 9 a.m. to round out their tri-match weekend.
