March 22, 2010

Box Score

RUSTON--Louisiana Tech's tennis team fell in a number of close individual matches en-route to dropping two road matches as a team at Southeastern, La. and at Nicholls State over the weekend.

"The team fought hard as they have done all year, but still came up a bit short," Tech head coach Quintin Yray said. "I keep telling them to be patient and their time will come. Sometimes they will ask to see the results from the score books of previous years which I'm more than happy to do. When they see those scores they know as well as I that they are on the right path to becoming the best they can be and that is my focus. I tell them they must concentrate on bettering themselves everyday and the wins will come."

The Techsters started off the weekend by traveling to take on Southeastern, La. on March 20. Tech fell 6-1, but not without a great effort.

"There was more evidence today that they are becoming a better team," Yray said. "The fact we barely lost the doubles point despite being down early by defaulting the #3 doubles match was proof."

Tech's number one doubles team of Maartje de Witt and Vivian ten Dolle picked up a tough 8-7 before the Techster's number two team of Rocio Juarez and Cecile Vichery dropped a close match 8-6. Southeastern, however, won the overall doubles point after winning the number three doubles spot by default.

Freshman Alena Erofeyeva earned a win for the Techsters in singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the number five position. Juarez put up a very good fight at the number four spot before finally succumbing 7-6, 7-6. In the number one position freshman ten Dolle barely lost in three sets (7-6, 4-6, 10-5) to a very good French player in Southeastern's Audrey Chelini.

The Techsters followed the Southeastern match by traveling to play Nicholls State on Sunday March 21, and were again in some close matches, but were unable to get the team win as they fell 6-1.

Tech's Erofeyeva won her second singles match of the weekend with this win coming in the number four slot 6-3, 6-2.

"I cannot say enough about this team, except that I know they are fighters," Yray said. "The fact they give 100% every point and have come up short in some matches does not make them losers in my book. I've told them if they can honestly say to themselves they gave 100% on every point, then they can walk away at the end of the match a winner (without regrets) no matter what the result."

Tech will now prepare to host Grambling State on Thursday March 25th at 3 p.m. CT at the Lady Techster Tennis Complex.