HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Northwestern State tennis team was unable to overcome a strong Sam Houston squad Sunday afternoon at the McAdams Tennis Center. The Bearkats downed the Lady Demons 6-1, snapping their four-match Southland Conference winning streak.
NSU (5-6, 4-4) fell victim to a number of close decisions against Sam Houston (13-2, 7-0). Throughout the day, three-set decisions on various courts ended up 5-7 in favor of the Bearkats, while two final tiebreaker sets ended both stages of competition.
"Congratulations to Sam Houston," NSU head coach Jonas Brobeck said. "They're a really strong team and have an excellent coaching staff. They played very tough and earned their win today. They played smart and with a lot of confidence and trust, and teams like them are very hard to beat."
Senior Emilija Dancetovic earned the lone point for the Lady Demons in singles. After falling in the first set 6-3 to opponent Sahithi Vutukuru, Dancetovic came back to take the second 6-3. The deciding set between the two competitors was decided in the second tiebreaker set of the day, Dancetovic claiming the match point, 10-6.
"I thought we started out strong in singles, but critical points in a lot of our matches today were controlled by a team with a lot of confidence," Brobeck said. "We had trouble capitalizing on opportunities, and a team that plays with as much confidence as Sam does, was able to take advantage."
Dancetovic/Dorota Szczygielska lost by a narrow 7-6 margin at No. 3 doubles, which snapped their undefeated streak. Mariella Minetti/Greta Wallin fell at No. 1 doubles, 7-5, while Judit Castillo Gargallo/Viktorie Wojcikova dropped a 6-2 decision at No. 2 doubles.
"We lost a super close doubles point, which fell to a match point on the No. 1 and 3 courts," Brobeck said. "It was a very competitive series, which unfortunately fell their way and having that doubles advantage can make a big difference heading into singles play."
NSU returns to competition Saturday at Central Arkansas at 11 a.m.
Tennis Match Results:
Northwestern State vs Sam Houston
3/28/2021 at Huntsville, Texas
(McAdams Tennis Center)
Sam Houston 6, Northwestern State 1
Singles competition:
1. #110 Sahaja Yamalapalli (SHSU) def. Minetti, Mariella (NSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Karla Montalvo (SHSU) def. Wojcikova, Viktorie (NSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
3. Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) def. Szczygielska, Dorota (NSU) 7-5, 6-3
4. Constandena Nicolaou (SHSU) def. Castillo, Judit (NSU) 7-5, 6-0
5. Dancetovic, Emilija (NSU) def. Sahithi Vutukuru (SHSU) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0
6. Sunskrithi Damera (SHSU) def. Kanaphuet, Gig (NSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Sahaja Yamalapalli/Sahithi Vutukuru (SHSU) def. Minetti, Mariella/Wallin, Greta (NSU) 7-5
2. Constandena Nicolaou/Andrijana Brkic (SHSU) def. Castillo, Judit/Wojcikova, Viktorie (NSU) 6-1
3. Karla Montalvo/Petra Kaszas (SHSU) def. Dancetovic, Emilija/Szczygielska, Dorota (NSU) 7-6
Match Notes:
Northwestern State 5-6, 4-4 SLC
Sam Houston 12-2, 7-0 SLC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,3,5,2,6)
A-25
