SAN MARCOS, Texas — Southwestern women's tennis picked up three wins against the NCAA Division I Texas State Bobcats but lost the overall match 5-2 in their third match in three days.
The Pirates made an adjustment in their doubles pairings to team up Esther Bowers and Nina Elez in the second spot, earning a 6-4 victory over Sofia Murcia-Rodriguez and Nikita Pradeep in the No. 2 spot. Texas State shutout Alli Ziehm and Nina Mitrofanova 6-0 in No. 1 doubles, and Chacadyah Israel-Lewis and Andrea Fuchs defeated Marian Quetzeri and Emma Kesterson 6-2 to claim the doubles point.
"We shook our doubles teams up and we were much improved," head coach Billy Porter said.
"We know we asked a lot out of them never having played together but Nina Elez and Esther really stepped up for a huge win."
In singles, Elez and Syndey Wahl each pulled out a three-set victory. Elez defeated Chacadyah Israel-Lewis 1-6, 7-6, 10-6 in No. 4 singles, and Sydney Wahl bested Renata Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 in No. 6 singles.
"Sydney dug deep to squeak out a 10-pointer. She was up 8-4 and went down 8-9 only to find her way to the finish line," Porter said. "Nina Elez was in a testy match and overcame the emotional swings of that caliber competition. What a huge confidence boost for her to pull that win out."
Southwestern falls to 2-2 this season with both losses coming against opponents from a higher division. San Marcos improves to 3-3. The Pirates will host Texas Lutheran University next Friday, March 5 at 5:00 p.m.
For more SU Pirate photos, please see Carlos Barron Photography