Graduate student Elizaveta Mladentseva serves the ball during a match against Southern Methodist University on Feb. 13 at the UTA Tennis Center. UTA lost 7-0.
UTA women’s tennis (2-4) was swept 7-0 by Southern Methodist University (6-1) Friday at the UTA Tennis Center.
The match opened with the doubles team of graduate student Elizaveta Mladentseva and freshman Flora Farkaslaki and the team of freshmen Natalia Gonzalez and Sofia Selle each losing 6-2 to give SMU a 1-0 lead going into singles. Freshmen Tasnime Ahamout and Diana Kaibara’s match went unfinished.
This continues UTA’s streak of not earning a point in doubles play throughout this season.
Freshman Natalia Gonzalez, left, passes the ball to freshman Sofia Selle during a match against Southern Methodist University on Feb. 13 at the UTA Tennis Center. Gonzalez said she was motivated by her teammates during the match.
“They need more time to play together,” head coach Diego Benitez said. “We saw really good stuff today, but still, we need to just spend a lot of more time on the court, and they need to get some more repetitions.”
Singles play didn’t go better for the Mavericks, as it opened with Farkaslaki and Mladentseva each getting swept. Selle then lost in straight sets to clinch an SMU victory, but play continued after the deciding set.
Ahamout and Gonzalez’s matches each went to their third sets, but both ended in an SMU win. Kaibara remained, but SMU finished the sweep of both her and UTA.
Graduate student Elizaveta Mladentseva prepares to serve during a match against Southern Methodist University on Feb. 13 at the UTA Tennis Center. Mladentseva lost 2-0 in singles.
“I thought that the girls hung in there in singles,” Benitez said. “I thought that we gave it a pretty good fight in multiple courts, and we just need to continue gaining experience and being in these type of scenarios.”
Only two Mavericks were able to win a set: Ahamout and Gonzalez. Both left the match with a positive outlook.
“I think I played very good in the first set, until when I was running and my knee hurted me,” Ahamout said. “I think I played really good in the first set when I was in shape.”
Freshmen Natalia Gonzalez, left, and Sofia Selle shake hands during a match against Southern Methodist University on Feb. 13 at the UTA Tennis Center. The Mavericks will play another home matchup Sunday against Louisiana Tech University.
Gonzalez said seeing her teammates’ scores leading or tied helped with motivation, and she wanted to fight for her team. She said she needs more consistency to win more.
The Mavericks return to play with another home matchup at 10 a.m. Sunday against Louisiana Tech University at the UTA Tennis Center.
“That’s going to be a pretty competitive match again. LA Tech is a really great program, and they’ve been playing really good ball lately,” Benitez said. “Hopefully we can do a good job in doubles, try to get that point on the board, and after that, I expect to be also a battle in every singles that we’re going to play.”
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