Montgomery – After two tough opening matches the Alabama State University women's tennis team was still in search of their first team victory of the 2016 season…until they hosted Alabama A & M University that is.

The Lady Hornets overcame chilly conditions and AAMU to register a 5-2 victory Saturday, at the Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center.

"We started of slow today in the doubles and that wasn't ideal.  We didn't play to the level we have been in training because we could have won those matches" said assistant coach Richard Seman, who was stepping in for Head Coach Anuk Christiansz while he is travelling with the men to Strarkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State in their season opener.

The Lady Hornets (1-2), lost the doubles point with close defeats at the one and two positions.  The number one pairing of Arantxia Wijngaarde and Marine Cartier lost a rollercoaster of a match in excruciating fashion.  After going down 4-1 the pair battled back to win the next four games in a row earning the chance to serve for the set, and the to clinch the doubles point, before falling in a tiebreak 7-6.

Not to be discouraged, the Lady Hornets overcame last minute line-up changes, and the disappointment of dropping the doubles point, to roar back in singles play.  Gabriela Lackova, Nicole Tekelova, Patricia Regel, and Irina Cvijovic steamrolled through their first sets, dropping only four games between them.

"The response in the singles was good.  The ladies came out with a lot of energy and focus and were up quickly at two, three, four, and five.  Even Aran (Wijngaarde) at one played well, her match was tight and really only had a few deuce points decide it.  It was a good performance from everyone to reward the hard work that they've been putting in in training" said Seman.

The relentless pressure and intensity forced upon the Bulldogs (0-2) carried over into the second sets too, with early breaks of serve continuing the dominance for ASU.  Lackova and Tekelova finished almost identically in terms of time and score, with 6-0, 6-2 wins each just before Regel and Cvijovic picked up the third and fourth points respectively and clinching the match, each with 6-2, 6-3 wins.

It was a special day for freshmen Lackova and Regel, who not only notched their first wins of the season, but also registered their first ever dual-match wins in a Hornet uniform.
The lone singles defeat for the Lady Hornets came at the number one position, with senior Wijngaarde falling in a very tightly contested match 6-4, 6-4.

The Lady Hornets, playing two matches in as many days, will hope to carry their winning confidence into their next match and build upon their first win of the season as they host Savannah State University, Sunday 10 a.m., at the Olean Black Underwood Centre. 

The match will also be followed by the ASU men's team's first competitive home appearance since winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) back in April 12, 2015.
 
 

Singles	Doubles
V. Hollos (AAMU) def. A. Wijngaarde (ASU) 6-4, 6-4	Hollos/Khalid (AAMU) def. Wijngaarde/Cartier (ASU) 7-6
G. Lackova (ASU) def. O. Rodriguez (AAMU) 6-0, 6-2	Rodriguez/Smith (AAMU) def. Lackova/Regel (ASU) 6-4
N. Tekelova (ASU) def. A. Sathe (AAMU) 6-0, 6-2	ASU def. AAMU by default
P. Regel (ASU) def. S. Smith (AAMU) 6-2, 6-3
I. Cvijovic (ASU) def. R. Khalid (AAMU) 6-2, 6-3
ASU def. AAMU by default