The UTD women’s tennis team crushed Hardin-Simmons 8-1 on April 12 before repeating the feat against Concordia Texas by winning 8-1 two days later. They ended the regular season with another win at East Texas Baptist 7-2 on April 19, followed by a victory against LeTourneau April 27 in the ASC semifinals to advance to the finals.
Against HSU, the Comets started the day by taking all three doubles matches. They continued to take all but one singles match, their single loss caused by player retirement. Freshman Riya Matharoo and junior Elyssa Ducret played perfect sets, not dropping a single game. No UTD player needed a third set to win.
“I think as a team we are in a really good mindset,” freshman Reika Nagai said. “Every doubles team has really good chemistry, and we’ve been doing well in singles as well.”
The Comets started off strong again versus Concordia, winning every doubles matchup. They also duplicated their singles efforts, losing just one match of the six. Ducret and Megan Zeng posted flawless victories.
The Comets had another successful performance in Marshall against ETBU. They won two of three doubles matches before winning all but one singles match. Elsha Valluru, Saumya Vedula, and Nagai all had impressive victories, winning in two sets and not conceding more than three games in any set.
The Comets qualified for the ASC semifinals, where they handily defeated LeTourneau 5-0. They easily swept the three doubles matchups, before quickly wrapping up the day by winning the first two singles matches to gain the five points needed to win the match. Vedula and Ducret were the singles victors, each winning by large margins.
Nagai said that the team’s upperclassmen provide helpful guidance and motivation and are a big part of the team’s chemistry and recent success.
Matharoo, Zeng and Ducret each had their eighth singles win of the season during the four-game stretch. Ducret and Zeng improved to 8-4 in doubles and Valluru and Ballado went up to 7-3.
The Comets now look forward to extending their five-match win streak in the ASC finals on April 27. They also hope to qualify and perform well in the NCAA regionals tournament that follows.
“We’ve been winning for four years in a row, and then people do expect us to win every time,” Nagai said. “If we keep the right mentality, that’ll lead us to eventually being the champion.”
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