Montgomery, Ala. – It was a busy day at the Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center, with both Alabama State University's Men' and Women's tennis teams in action Saturday against visiting Kennesaw State University.

There was great tennis across all 12 courts in action but fortunes were vastly different for ASU.  The men fell 6-1 while the women ground out a tough 4-3 victory.

"I knew the doubles point would be vital today and it showed", Head Coach Anuk Christiansz said post-match.  "For the girls it was the decisive point as we went on to split singles it and just gave us confidence needed into singles.  For the guys we really needed that point to go up and put scoreboard pressure on them because then we could play with a bit more freedom" he said.

Christiansz will be more than happy with the display of the Lady Hornets (3-3), especially the newest additions to the team.  The number one pairing of Arantxia Wijngaarde and Brankica Orlovic sealed the doubles point with a 7-6 win after Gabriela Lackova and Nicole Tekelova won 6-4 at the two position.  It was a big day for the freshmen, with Lackova dominating her match from the start to quickly give ASU a 2-0 lead over Kennesaw State (1-5).  With a 6-2, 6-3 win at five from Irina Cvijovic the match came down to the team's other freshman, Patricia Regel, to earn the deciding point.

"That was a big win from her (Regel).  To have that pressure on her at 3-3 and have everyone's eyes on you she played extremely well and controlled a lot of the points from the outset of the third.  She really took control and that was great to see her play like that and get the reward of not only the singles win but the team too" said Christiansz.

The Hornets (0-3) had a score that was unflattering and wasn't indicative of the play on the courts too.  Still experimenting with doubles combinations, ASU fell behind after 6-2 and 6-1 losses at the one and three positions respectively.  A 6-3 win from Ronald Mataba and Adam Coyne at number two prevented the sweep.

In singles play there were close matches but it was Mataba who was the only one able to register a win against the Owls (3-1).  The senior, from Hatfield, England, was playing some inspired tennis backing up his win last week.  Serving with ferocity and precision, crisp volleys from his shoelaces reminiscent of Patrick Rafter, while forcing the issue from the baseline with his forehand proved too much for his opponent.

"I felt great, was serve and volleying and was pleased with it.  Had heaps of fun out there.  Unfortunately, the team lost so we have to go back to the drawing board in practice to work on how we can get that team result because the chemistry is there we just need to put the wins on the board" Mataba said post-match.

There is no rest for either team as they are both in action immediately, with the women playing their third match in as many days, and the men playing the second of a back to back weekend matches.

The tennis teams will host a double header Sunday, against Jacksonville State University at 1 p.m. looking to improve on their season records with the women a chance to move above the .500 mark

Men's Doubles
1. Pritchard/Castellanos (KSU) def. Mlambo/Thompson (ASU) 6-2
2. Mataba/Coyne (ASU) def. Durham/Wendel (KSU) 6-3
3. Valencia/Wilton (KSU) def. Skvorc/Pusztay (ASU) 6-1

Men's Singles
1. S. Pritchard (KSU) def. T. Mlambo (ASU) 7-5 6-3
2. R. Mataba (ASU) def. M. Castellanos (KSU) 6-2 7-5
3. D. Durham (KSU) def. K. Skvorc (ASU) 6-4 6-4
4. A. Valencia (KSU) def. J. Thompson (ASU) 6-2 6-2
5. L. de Torres Curth def. S. Pusztay (ASU) 6-1 4-1 ret.
6. D. Wendel (KSU) def. A. Coyne (ASU) 6-1 6-2

Women's Doubles
1. Wijngaarde/Orlovic (ASU) def. Perez/Hopton (KSU) 7-6
2. Lackova/Tekelova (ASU) def. Castro/Bueno (KSU) 6-4
3. De Wet/Mercado (KSU) def. Regel/Cvijovic (ASU) 6-3

Women's Singles
1. C. Perez (KSU) def. A. Wijngaarde (ASU) 6-3 6-3
2. C. Hopton (KSU) def. B. Orlovic (ASU) 3-6 6-3 6-3
3. G. Lackova (ASU) def. A. Mercado (KSU) 6-2 6-1
4. P. Regel (ASU) def. I. Castro (KSU) 7-6 1-6 6-2
5. I. Cvijovic (ASU) def. S. Cantrell (KSU) 6-2 6-3
6. A. De Wet (KSU) def. N. Tekelova (ASU) 6-3 0-6 6-4