The men’s and women’s tennis teams are continuing their impressive 2016 seasons as the end of regular-season play approaches. The women are sitting on a 12-match winning streak, breaking the previous school record of 11, established in 2014. The overall school record for most season wins is 19. They sit at the third-place spot with 17 total wins, for an overall 17-3 record.
The men have a respectable 10-5 record this season and close out their regular conference play on April 12.
The women have taken down conference competitors Dayton, Richmond, George Washington and Saint Joseph’s. The Billikens were also victorious over more local competition: Illinois-Chicago and Southern Illinois.
The women’s most impressive win came at the onset of conference play with a 5-2 triumph over conference rival Dayton. Dayton took the doubles point, but SLU kept strong on their home court and responded by winning five of their six singles matches.
Junior Aspen Cervin came back from a tight 6-4 first-set loss to win 7-5, 6-2 in the final two sets. Junior Eleonore Tchakarova followed suit at number two singles, winning her match 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Senior Madison Cook dropped her first set in a tiebreaker, but gained back the momentum to finish the match with the upperhand, 6-2, 6-2.
The stakes were high on March 31, as the record for the women’s 11 game winning streak was on the line. They played well under pressure and started the day off with a sweep in doubles to get on the board first. Southern Illinois crept up on them in singles play, but SLU took care of three of the six singles matches to steal the win, 4-3.
The men are currently 2-2 against other Atlantic 10 teams. They easily handled La Salle (7-0) and Fordham (6-1), despite both being away matches. The Billikens fell 5-2 to both Dayton and Saint Joseph’s.
On April 3, the men traveled to Little Rock to take on Arkansas, ranked no. 14 in the nation. Regardless of the loss, two sophomores had quality performances against this powerhouse team. David Ferragut had a major win at number one singles, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, and Juan Calero dominated at number two singles, 6-4, 7-5.
Both Cervin and Ferragut have received Player of the Week titles this season. Ferragut earned this honor for the first time, and Cervin adds the mention to her growing collection of three accolades. Cervin held a nine-match winning streak earlier in the season. Ferragut has an impressive 17-4 overall singles record in his career.
The women face Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, at 2 p.m. on April 7, and the men take on UMKC at Dwight Davis Tennis Center at 2 p.m. on April 12. Both teams look forward to the A-10 Conference Championship on April 14-17 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
