Texas State Women’s Tennis lost their Sun Belt Conference first-round match 3-4 against Marshall University on Friday, April 25, in Rome, Georgia.
The loss ends the season for the Bobcats, who came into the matchup as the number three seed in the conference on the back of their most wins (16) in a single season in school history.
Marshall came into the matchup as the number six seed in the conference after an 18-5 season while going 7-4 in conference play.
Doubles:
Marshall jumped out to an early lead in the first doubles match of the tournament for both teams as Sophia Hurrion and Aisling McGrane started with a statement win over Maria Lora and Chantajah Mills 6-0 on court two.
The Thundering Herd would secure the doubles point in the second match of the day as Nel Van Hout and Johanna Strom defeated Kiana Graham and Callie Creath in a tightly contested 6-4 battle on court three.
The final doubles match between Marshall’s Emma Vanderheyden and Alina Mokrynska and Texas State’s Sun Belt Conference all-conference second team pairing, Sofia Fortuno and Ireland Simme, was abandoned at 6-6 when Marshall secured the doubles point.
Singles:
Marshall came into the singles portion of the match sporting a 1-0 lead and would quickly have that erased as Ireland Simme continued her perfect singles campaign by beating Nour El Ouazzani 6-4, 6-1 to improve to 15-0 on the season. Simme is the first Bobcat to have more than ten singles wins in a season without a loss and was awarded the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year.
With the score at a deadlock of 1-1, Aisling McGrane would pick up her second victory of the day as she took care of Tadiwa Mauchi in straight sets of 6-3, 6-3 on court four to reclaim the advantage for Marshall.
That lead would soon grow on court one as Johanna Strom beat Sun Belt Conference, all-conference first-teamer Kiana Graham in an identical scoreline of 6-3, 6-3, bringing the lead to 3-1 for the sixth seed.
With Marshall only needing one more win to claim victory, Callie Creath put together a hard-fought, three-set win over Emma Vanderheyden on court two, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to bring the match to 3-2 and keep hope alive for the Bobcats.
With only two games left in the matchup, both in the third and final set, a storm rolled through Rome and caused a weather delay due to rain and lightning in the area.
After the two-hour-long stoppage, play resumed at the indoor facility with the court five matchup as Sofia Fortuno and Sophia Hurrion were in a back-and-forth 6-3, 3-6, 4-3 match. Fortuno would win the next two sets to claim victory (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) and put all eyes on court three to decide the winner.
The last match of the day between Emily Niers and Alina Mokrynska was in the third set at the time of stoppage, with Niers holding the slight lead 6-2, 1-6, 5-4(15-40). On court indoors, Mokrynska would catch fire and win the final three sets, ending the game 7-5 and winning the match 4-3 for Marshall.
The match marks the end of a milestone season for Texas State while Marshall moves forward with momentum into the semifinals. The Thundering Herd will face off against the seventh seed, Troy, on Saturday, April 26, in Rome, Georgia.
