CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Judit Castillo Gargallo and Dorota Szczygielska picked up singles victories, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi proved to be too much in a 5-2 Islanders win the Southland Conference opener Friday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.

"I give a lot of credit to Corpus Christi today," head coach Patric DuBois said. "They had a good game plan and they executed well on each court."

NSU (7-4 overall, 0-1) saw its five-match winning streak snapped.

Castillo Gargallo picked up her fourth consecutive win with a triumph over Jordan Ortega-Mendez at No. 6. Castillo Gargallo controlled the opening set, winning 6-1 and jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second set and held on to win 6-4. This is the first time Ortega-Mendez has been beaten this season, entering 5-0. Castillo Gargallo is now 6-2 on the season.

It is the 48^th career singles victory for the senior, which moves her into sole possession of 16^th place in program history.

Szczygielska has come out on top in five straight after a win in straight sets against Kei Kato at No. 3. Coming into the match, Kato was a perfect 9-0 in 2020. Szczygielska fell behind 2-1 in the first set, but rattled off four consecutive games to turn around the set. In a tight second set, she outlasted Kato 7-5 for the freshman's fifth sweep.

TAMU-CC (11-2, 1-0), playing its first match in 10 days, won its first meeting its in last three against the Lady Demons.

The Islanders started quickly, winning the first two doubles matches to earn the point. Mariya Shumeika and Camille Townsend emerged in a tight match against Mariella Minetti and Patrycja Polanska at No. 2 to secure the point.

TAMU-CC came out on top in four of the six singles matches and never looked back. The clinching point for the Islanders came when Townsend came away with a 6-4, 6-3, win at the No. 2 spot, which put them on top 4-0.

NSU aims to bounce back Sunday at Lamar, beginning at 11 a.m. The Lady Demons come home next weekend for their first league home matches against Nicholls and New Orleans.
 
Tennis Match Results
Northwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Feb. 28, 2020 at Corpus Christi, TX
(Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5, Northwestern State 2

Singles
1. Mariya Shumeika (AMCC) def. Mariella Minetti (NSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Camille Townsend (AMCC) def. Ela Iwaniuk 6-4, 6-3
3. Dorota Szczygielska (NSU) def. Kei Kato 6-3, 7-5
4. Victoire Delattre (AMCC) def. Patrycja Polanska 6-2, 6-2
5. Emma Honore (AMCC) def. Olivia Alfredsson 6-0, 6-2
6. Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) def. Jordan Ortega-Mendez (AMCC) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
1. Kei Kato/Emma Honore (AMCC) def. Ela Iwaniuk/Emilija Dancetovic 6-3
2. Mariya Shumeika/Camille Townsend (AMCC) def. Patrycja Polanska/Mariella Minetti 6-4
3. Dorota Szczygielska/Judit Castillo Gargallo (NSU) vs. Maria Maldonado/Jordan Ortega-Mendez UF

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,1,2,3,4,6)