Sophomore Tsveta Dimitrova and the tennis team faced adversity from Nevada and Arizona in Tuscon but came out with wins against both teams. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar
The women’s tennis team traveled to Tuscon, Arizona this weekend in their first road trip to face off against the Nevada Wolf Pack and Arizona Wildcats.
The Cougars came in with a 5-0 record in the midst of a dominating start to the season. Nevada was 1-1 coming into the weekend while Arizona boasted a 5-0 record. Despite facing a tougher team than in past weeks, the Cougars still found success.
The Cougars arrived in Tuscon after sweeping the Southern University Jaguars. Sophomore Lauren Alter and senior Alison Mills got the competition started, winning their doubles match 6-1.
But Nevada showed their toughness. Sophomore Tsveta Dimitrova and senior Sveva Mazzari suffered their first loss of the season, dropping a 6-3 decision.
Unlike most of the season, the doubles point was still up for grabs when senior Ana Glumac and sophomore Constandena Nicolaou got on the court. Fortunately for the team, the pair came in clutch with a tightly contested 7-5 win to take the doubles point.
The singles point was just as contested as the teams went back and forth with wins on both sides. Mazzari made Houston’s lead 2-0 as she won her match 6-0, 6-1 against an outmatched Adriana Gergelyova of Nevada.
The Wolf Pack came fighting with consecutive wins over Mills and Dimitrova, the latter suffering her first singles defeat of the season.
With the score tied at 2-2, Alters reclaimed the lead for the Cougars with her 7-5, 6-1 victory, a win which puts her level with Mazzari for the season at 6-0 in singles matches. Glumac’s 7-5, 6-2 loss brought the match even at 3-3, with Nicolaou’s match the deciding one for the day.
All the pressure was on Nicolaou, who shook off any sign of nerves in her 6-4, 6-3 victory, tilting the match Houston’s way. The overall score was 4-3.
Sunday saw the Cougars take the courts once again to face off against Arizona. In a matchup of undefeated teams, the score line would have been surprising to most. The Cougars dominated from the start and came out with a 6-1 victory over the Wildcats.
The doubles point was earned as Mills and Alter won their match 6-3, while Nicolaou and Glumac repeated the same score.
The singles matches were more of the same as the Cougars showed more determination.
Dimitrova won her match 6-3, 6-2, while Mazzari won 6-3, 6-4. Alter earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory while Mills suffered their only loss of the day with her 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 loss to Camila Westbrooks of Arizona.
Nicoulaou and Glumac finished off the match with 7-5, 7-5 and 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 wins, respectively.
