Lady Tiger tennis opens season in Texas; reloads for another national title run
Placing third at last year's NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Mesa, AZ, the Cowley College women's tennis team has reloaded its squad with several new faces as they look to make another run at the program's first-ever national title. The third-ranked Lady Tigers split a pair of matches Friday in Plano, TX, falling 5-4 to fourth-ranked St. Petersburg College before blasting 19th-ranked Eastern Arizona College 9-0.
Cowley split the six singles matches against St. Petersburg College, but lost two of the three doubles matches.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match against Saint Petersburg College as they have a very strong team top to bottom," Cowley head coach Manuel Raga said. "We are dealing with some injuries on our team so I felt the girls could not really play their best. When you face top teams, you must be 100 percent ready or they will make you pay. I was glad we played very solid later that day against Eastern Arizona and got the 9-0 win."
Lady Tiger freshmen Tshegofatso Tsiang and Mariia Koraleva each went 2-0 in singles play, while Tsiang teamed with sophomore Saara Kunakunova to win their No. 3 doubles match against St. Petersburg College.
As for this season, Cowley will look to replace Ane Ibarra and Andrea Rodriguez, who captured the No. 3 doubles title a season ago.
Among the freshmen added to the roster are, Ntokozo Zungu, Lia Sarjveladze, Mariia Koraleva, Camila Neyra, Tshegofatso Tsiang, and Maria Sosa.
"We expect them to play near the top of the lineup," Cowley head coach Manuel Raga said.
Other freshmen on the team are, Kiley Hale and twin sisters Valentina and Virginia Jimenez.
"With so many new girls it will be interesting to see how we perform," Raga said.
All-American Saara Kunakunova who was the national runner-up at No. 4 singles, and fellow All-American Isid Hernandez who came on strong a season ago and solidified the top-spot in the Lady Tigers' singles lineup, are the only two returning players.
"We expect another great year out of those two," Raga said. "They will be leaders for our team."
Cowley has assembled a challenging schedule to help prepare the team for regionals and nationals.
"I know we are super talented, but we need to get some experience under our belt," Raga said. "I am excited to see how we develop and hope to make another deep run at nationals."
Results vs St. Petersburg College
Doubles
*No. 1 - Isid Hernandez & Ntokozo Zungu (CC) lost to N. Mckenzie & V. Cherfus (SPC) 3-8.
*No. 2 - Mariia Koroleva & Camila Neyra (CC) lost to M. Garcia & G. Lynn (SPC) 6-8.
*No. 3 - Saara Kunakunova & Tshegofatso Tsiang (CC) defeated R. Hancock & L. Garcia (SPC) 8-3.
Singles
*No. 1 - Isid Hernandez (CC) lost to N. Mckenzie (SPC) 6-7(4), 1-6.
*No. 2 - Ntokozo Zungu (CC) lost to V. Cherfus (SPC) 3-6, 1-6.
*No. 3 - Tshegofatso Tsiang (CC) defeated M. Garcia (SPC) 6-3, 6-1.
*No. 4 - Camila Neyra (CC) lost to G. Lynn (SPC) 1-6, 0-1 ret.
*No. 5 - Saara Kunakunova (CC) defeated L. Garcia (SPC) 6-2, 0-6, 10-8.
*No. 6 - Mariia Koroleva (CC) defeated K. Tada (SPC) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.
Results vs Eastern Arizona College
Doubles
*No. 1 - Isid Hernandez & Ntokozo Zungu (CC) defeated L. Coulone & A. Csibi (EA) 8-2.
*No. 2 - Mariia Koroleva & Tshegofatso Tsiang (CC) defeated S. Csibi & M. Palmer (EA) 8-0.
*No. 3 - Lia Sarjveladze & Valentina Jimenez (CC) defeated D. Hagnie & H. Miller (EA) 8-1.
Singles
*No. 1 - Isid Hernandez (CC) defeated L. Coulone (EA) 6-0, 6-1.
*No. 2 - Ntokozo Zungu (CC) defeated S. Csibi (EA) 6-2, 6-2.
*No. 3 - Tshegofatso Tsiang (CC) defeated A. Csibi (EA) 6-1, 6-0.
*No. 4 - Mariia Koroleva (CC) defeated M. Palmer (EA) 6-0, 6-1.
*No. 5 - Lia Sarjveladze (CC) defeated O. Haynie (EA) 6-0, 6-0.
*No. 6 - Valentina Jimenez (CC) defeated H. Miller (EA) 6-4, 6-1.