JONESBORO, Ark. (1/19/24) – Playing its first dual match under head coach Sujay Lama, the Arkansas State tennis team defeated Tennessee State 7-0 Friday at the Trim Gym. The win marks the first 7-0 victory for A-State since March 28, 2011 against Central Arkansas.
"I'm so proud of this group and see them enjoy playing tennis," Lama said. "This group has had some tough times, but to see them smile is what it is all about. First match, we had some nerves like we expected, but we competed well. We will enjoy this one and quickly recover for a tough match tomorrow."
A-State (1-0) took the doubles point in dramatic fashion and then won each of the six singles matches. On court two, Sarah Millard and Abigail Thurmer picked up a 6-4 decision to give the Red Wolves an early leg up in doubles. Courts one and three went to decisive tiebreaks, but Rebecca Brody and Ariadna Fernandez fought back from match point to win the tiebreak on court three 7-6 (9-7). Yasmine Humbert and Nejla Zukic battled through multiple match points on court one before Tennessee State took the tiebreak 7-6 (16-14).
"We remained calm and coach reassured us all the time to stay confident and Ari was super mature and handled her emotions really well," Brody said. "It was quite exciting out there and I'm glad we could pull out the doubles point. In singles, our energy was moving from court to court. I felt the energy from Sarah and it pumped me up even more and then I think that helped carry Nejla to the comeback in the third set. We've been practicing so hard and it is great to see the preparation lead to this result today."
Brody gave the Red Wolves a 2-0 lead in the match with a straight sets win on court one, 6-2, 6-1. Sarah Millard made it 3-0 for A-State with a straight sets win 6-3, 6-3 on court two. Zukic clinched the victory for the Red Wolves in thrilling fashion with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win on court three. Ariadna Fernandez increased the advantage to 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court five and Humbert used a third-set tiebreak t4-6, 6-1, 10-8 to make it 5-0. Emiliya Margolin completed the 7-0 victory winning a third-set tiebreak 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-5.
The Red Wolves return to the Trim Gym Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin. Admission is FREE.
