WICHITA FALLS, Texas – MSU Denver's men's and women's tennis teams took a turn with more tough opponents Friday, with the men losing twice to nationally-ranked foes and the women splitting two duals.
The Roadrunners opened the day against Cameron (Okla.), with the men falling to the nationally-ranked (tied for 20
th) Aggies 4-0 and the women earning a 4-2 win over their unranked foes.
Later in the day at the tournament hosted by Midwestern State (Texas), the opponent was Southwest Baptist (Mo.), whose men are tied for 13
th in the national ratings, while its women are tied for 20
th. The Roadrunners lost 6-1 and 4-0, respectively.
Against Cameron, the Roadrunners' women won four of the five completed singles matches to bounce back after losing the doubles point.
In singles,
Brooklyn Ross rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win at No. 1,
Tabitha Porter won 7-6, 6-0 at No. 2,
Helena Steenberg won 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3 and
Ainsley Winterrowd's 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory at No. 5 clinched the dual.
"That was a big win for our women this morning," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Josh Graetz said. "We executed better than them when the match was in the balance.
Then we came up against a really solid Southwest Baptist team in the afternoon. Credit to them."
The men's team's dual with Cameron turned after the Aggies picked up the doubles point in two closely-contested wins. After
Daniel Llorente and
Mateo Besada paired to win at No. 1 doubles, Cameron earned the doubles point with wins of 7-5 and 6-4 at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
Llorente was beaten 6-3, 7-5 at No. 1 singles for the Aggies' clinching victory. But both Besada (No. 2) and
David Kijak (No. 4) were on the way to third sets when the dual was stopped.
Against Southwest Baptist, MSU Denver's lone win came at No. 2, where Besada outlasted David Szeri 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8). The Roadrunners' men dropped to 3-4, with all the losses to either Division I teams or ranked Division II opponents.
"Our guys had another tough day," Graetz said. "We're playing at a high level, but not doing a good enough job of executing in the big moments. I believe in this team and that the results will start to turn our way."
MSU Denver's women are at 6-3 after the loss to Southwest Baptist. Porter was in position to win at No. 2 singles – she led 6-0, 4-4 – when the dual was clinched.
The Roadrunners' women wrap up the weekend in Texas with an 8 a.m. MST dual against No. 12 Angelo State (Texas) on Saturday.
The men are off until next Friday, when they play host to Division I Idaho at the Regency Athletic Complex at 2 p.m.
