Women’s tennis remains undefeated with win over Lamar

By Kennedy Stadler

Published Jan 28, 2019

The team never looked phased as they continued their perfect season Sunday. Photo courtesy: TCU Women’s Tennis Twitter

TCU women’s tennis cruised past Lamar University in a 6-1 win, scoring five straight points in Sunday’s match inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.

The Frogs (4-0) clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win from Mercedes Aristegui and Addy Guevara after what Coach Lee Walker called a dominant performance from Stevie Kennedy and Chloe Hule on court three.

“We talked a lot about getting leads and how to close out leads fast,” Walker said.

Kennedy and Hule quickly jumped to a 4-1 lead before closing it out with a 6-1 victory over Lamar’s Sanja Jolic and Milena Belianovich.

Sophomore Aleksa Cveticanin played on court one after being out all week with a shoulder injury and secured a 6-0, 7-6 victory over Jasmin Buchta. Walker applauded Cveticanin for closing out a tough second set against a confident Buchta who beat the University of North Texas’ Maria Kononova at the number one position just yesterday.

Cveticanin appreciated her coach leaving out the details of her opponent’s previous success because she felt she was able to relax and fully focus after her absence.

On court two, Kate Paulus was able to manage the match after dropping her first set to Bianca Vitale. Paulus has been a crucial piece to the Frogs success in singles this season, and she rallied back with a 6-3, 1-0 victory to give the Frogs the 5-0 advantage.

“That’s really the first match that Kate has been a little off, and for her to still find a way to win, I’m really proud of her,” Walker said.

Lamar picked up their only point on court five as Hule fell in the super tiebreaker, but Guevara sealed the victory on court six with a win over Belianovich.

The Frogs’ perfect January allowed them to get a taste of winning after a fall season plagued with injuries. Walker said the team’s identity is becoming clearer, giving them the confidence they need as the season moves forward.

February will put the TCU’s perfect record to test as they kick it off with a visit from the University of North Texas at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.