App State women’s tennis hit the road to the land of Buccees and brisket for a weekend in the Lone Star State as they claimed victory in one of two matchups against Tarleton State University and the University of Texas at Arlington. The team lost to the Texans of Tarleton State Friday afternoon before breaking their losing streak Saturday morning with a win against the Mavericks.
The first of the two games saw the team drop the Friday head-to-head in Stephenville, Texas against Tarleton State 4-3. It marked the team’s fourth straight loss and second straight 4-3 result that came down to the final set in the last singles matchup.
The Saturday matinee against UT Arlington brought an end to that skid as sophomore Ruby Broadbent took a third set against her opponent to clinch the team’s first win since Valentine’s Day Weekend. The win also continues phenomenal doubles play for the Mountaineers as they are 8-2 in finished doubles matches since their matchup versus Austin Peay University.
The great doubles play started at the team’s No. 1 duo in senior Savannah Dada-Mascoll and junior Taya Powell, finished with 1 win and an unfinished match over the weekend, moving their record on the season to 5-2 with 3 straight wins.
Everything is bigger in Texas and that correlated to Broadbent’s clutch factor as she finished 4-0 over the two matches. Both doubles matches with her and junior Naledi Manyube saw dominant 6-3 and 6-1 finishes, while her singles affairs went the distance.
Her first matchup saw a long first set that she was able to win 7-6 before a 6-1 statement in the second set against Tarleton State. Her matchup against the Mavericks saw a first set loss from the Aussie, but 2 straight set wins at 6,2-6-3 determined the head-to-head.
The Mountaineers move to a 4-6 record on the season with 5 of those losses coming on the road and just 1 of their losses coming at home. They return to Boone for a Thursday matchup against Davidson College and a Friday affair with Virginia Commonwealth University. The matches are set for 1 p.m. and 11 a.m. respectively.
