SCF Tennis Starts Strong at Nationals

Mesa, AZ - The SCF tennis got off to a strong start as they finished day one of the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Championship the Mesa Tennis Center at Gene Autry Park in Mesa, Arizona. The Manatee are leading in first place with 14 points. All six players advanced to the second round (Round of 16) in singles and doubles action.

Sophomore Karla Menedez would open the doors first at the flight #1 singles as she defeated freshman Itzel Lara-Gonzalez (Hinds CC) in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3). Menendez will face Hillsborough’s freshman Mbali Langa, the #5 seed in the flight. Langa defeated sophomore Cameron Ward (Collin CC) with a 6-2 pair decision.

At the flight #2 singles, Lou Bonet De Frietas would defeat Madelyn Dibble (Marion Military) 6-0, 6-1. Bonet De Freitas will face freshman Elizabeth Wooten (Hinds CC), who defeated Sonia Chino (Sauk Valley CC) 6-2, 7-5.

Sophomore Brie Botsford would defeat classmate Kaylen Bond (Mississippi Gulf Coast) 6-1, 6-0 at flight #3 and will face HCC’s Viktoryian Zhadzinskaya, the #2 seed who earned a first round bye.

At flight #4, freshman Sarah Forsyth would defeat redshirt sophomore Judith Mills (Jones) 6-2, 6-0. Forsyth will face #1 seed Saara Kunakunova (Cowley CC), who received a first round bye.

Meanwhile freshmen Kia Caravalho-Landell, the #4 seed and Luna Mouton, the #6 seed, each received a first round bye at flights #4 and #5 respectively. While Caravalho-Landell awaits the winner between sophomore Breanna Vann (Wallace State) and sophomore Nina Pigeassou (Abraham Baldwin), Mouton will face freshman Cammie Wallace (Eastern Arizona), the #5 seed.

After singles action, doubles went underway, beginning with Caravaggio and Bonet De Freitas, who were the #7 seed, would advance to the second round in the flight #1 doubles by defeating the sophomore duo of Valentina Kukuruzovic and Desiree Ahlberg (Bryant & Stratton) 6-0, 6-1. They will face sophomore Krissy Georgieva and freshman Kasey Kent (Mississippi Gulf Coast), who defeated the freshman duo of Noelani Lui and Krystel Quintero (Paradise Valley).

At flight #2 doubles, Botsford and Forsyth defeated sophomores Nia Black and Mikayla Herrera (Eastern Arizona) 6-1, 6-0. They will face sophomore Maria Garcia-Pulido and Lucia Popluharova, the #3 seed that earned a first round bye.

Mendez and Mouton defeated the sophomore duo of Emma and Rachel Slade (Iowa Central) 6-2, 6-1 at flight #3 doubles. They will face sophomore Lillian Hotstetter and freshman Reagan Ramsey (Collin CC), who earned a first round bye.

Day One Standings:

1. SCF (14)

2. Abraham Baldwin (12)

Collin (12)

Eastern Florida State (12)

Iowa Central (12)

Meridian (12)

7. Barton (10)

Copiah-Lincoln (10)

10. Eastern Arizona (8)

Wallace State (8)

12. Jones (6)

Mississippi Gulf Coast (6)

New Mexico Military (6)

Seward (6)

16. Central Alabama (4)

East Central (4)

Hartford (4)

Hinds (4)

Kaskaskia (4)

21. Bryant and Stratton (2)

Hillsborough (2)

Marion Military (2)

Paradise Valley (2)

St. Pete (2)

26. Mesa (0)

Sauk Valley (0)

Tyler (0)

South Carolina-Sumter (0)

Up Next:

Day two of the tournament will commence Sunday morning.
Times of Matches:

Singles-

1. Mendez vs Langa @ 3 pm EST/12 pm MST
2. Bonet De Freitas vs Wooten @ 1:30 pm EST/10:30 MST
3. Botsford vs Zhadzinskaya @ 1 pm EST/10 am MST
4. Forsyth vs #1 Kunakunova @ 11:30 am EST/8:30 am MST
5. #4 Caravalho-Landell vs Pigeassou @ 10:30 am EST/7:30 am MST
6. #6 Mouton vs Wallace @ 10:30 am EST/7:30 am MST

Doubles-
1. Carvalho-Landell/Bonet De Freitas vs Georgieva/Kent @ 3 pm EST/12 pm MST
2. Botsford/Forsyth vs Garcia-Pulido/Popluharova @ 5:30 pm EST/2:30 pm MST
3. Mendez/Mouton vs Hotstetter/Ramsey @ 4:30 pm EST/1:30 pm MST

SCF Tennis Get First Win

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF tennis team (1-4, 0-3 Region 8) were able to get their first win of the season as they defeated Abraham Baldwin Agriculture (3-4) 5-1.

“Overall, I was very happy with the team performance today,” said head coach Chloe Murphy. “The ladies have been putting the work in on the practice court to turn around our recent results.”

“It felt great to get the win at home today. I really wanted it for the ladies. Coaching staff have been preaching day in and day out that our results are dictated by our practice efforts. Put the work in on the practice court and the match court will take care of itself. It was nice to have the ladies see their hard work pay off today.”

Starting with doubles, the duo of freshman Sarah Forsyth and sophomore Britain Botsford defeated freshmen Arianna Calcatelli and Ellie Black 8-4 at #2 doubles. The freshman duo of Lou De Freitas Bonet and Kia Carvahlo would follow defeated freshmen Natalie Kohoutova and  Tiffany-Anne Beukes 8-5 before sophomore Karla Menedez and freshman Luna Mouton defeated sophomore Nina Pigeassou and freshman Kaden Walker 8-5 to sweep doubles.

“Winning all three doubles is always the goal and it’s definitely easier said than done,” said Murphy on sweeping doubles. “We’ve been working hard to make adjustments on the doubles court to find the right partnerships, lineups and game plans. The ladies have been patient and embraced the changes and their performance today in doubles showed the improvements we made as we approach the second half of the season.”

Heading into singles play, De Freitas Bonet would get the first match in two sets at #2 singles after defeating Calcatelli via retire before Mouton defeated Walker with a 6-1 pair decision at #6 singles.

“Lou and Luna played two very good singles matches today,” said Murphy on De Frietas Bonet and Mouton. “Lou played a great first set before her opponent was forced to retire due to illness. It was nice to see Lou relaxed on the match court and playing the tennis she is capable of. Luna worked her way back into the singles lineup did a great job controlling her nerves and executing the game plan to work her strengths.”

The Golden Stallions would get their lone point on the board as Menendez fell to Kohoutova 6-3, 6-1 at #1 singles.

Shortly after, the matchup ended as rain came and the remaining three matches were ruled unfinished.

Up Next:

The Manatees remain at home on their spring break as they welcome Hillsborough (2-0, 1-0 Region 8) Friday afternoon, March 12 at 3 pm.

SCF Tennis Open Season with Win

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF tennis team pulled a hard fought matchup at the SCF Tennis Complex as they defeated NAIA Southeastern University by a score of 5-4 to open the season. With the win, the Manatees are 2-1 against the Lady Flames.

“Overall it was a great team performance, especially given the circumstances,” said head coach Chloe Murphy. “For most of these girls, they haven’t had a chance to compete in 10 months and it felt great to be back out there. I’m proud of the ladies for sticking together as a team to get the job done.”

“It feels great to get the first win under our belts and for it to be at home feels even better. Obviously having fans able to attend is what we want. After waiting 10 months we’re just thrilled to be able to compete. We hope we can provide a safe environment for our players, staff and spectators to have our fans come back.”

“As a team, I think this was a good start to the season,” said redshirt freshman Karla Menendez. “This was the first match in almost a year for all the returners; this was the freshmen first college match. The team demonstrated good energy on all courts throughout doubles and singles.”

Starting off with doubles, the Manatees did would open the door with Menendez and freshman Lou Bonet De Freitas winning their match against the sophomore duo of Beatrice Letizia and Priscila Baptista at No. 1 doubles winning by a score of 6-4. The freshman duo of Sarah Forsyth and Kia Caravalho-Landell would fall to fellow freshmen duo of Nadeza Bijelic and Abigail Damon by a score of 4-6 at No. 2 doubles, but freshman Luna Mouton and redshirt freshman Mackenzie Vraspir would keep the Manatees ahead as they won at No. 3 doubles by a score of 7-5 over freshman Kishaundah Romain and junior Gabby Marshall before singles play.

“It was great to watch these ladies compete for the first time as Manatees,” said Murphy on the freshmen debuts.

Heading into singles, with the Manatees ahead 2-1, Menendez would take the first singles match at No. 2 as she defeated Bijelic via retire despite being up 5-1 to extend the lead to 3-1.

“Karla did a great job today where she picked up wins at #1 doubles and #2 singles, said Murphy on Menendez. “She was very composed out there tonight and did the simple things excellently that picked up two wins to start her Spring ‘21 campaign.”

“During singles, it was tough on all courts,” said Menedez on singles play. “Some players had to fight their way back and was able to turn the match around to their favor. Even for those that lost, I was able to see them fight for the match till the very last point.”

The Lady Flames would tie the score at 3-3 after Vraspir would fall to sophomore Mia Duncan 0-6, 2-6 at No. 6 singles before Bonet De Freitas fell to Letizia at No. 2 singles until a determined Forsyth pulled off her first collegiate win over Marshall with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 decision at No. 4 singles to give the Manatees the lead again.

In the end, it was Carvalho-Landell who was the hero of the match as she fought for a three-set win over Baptista by a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the game-winner. Mouton would fall in the final match at No. 5 singles to Damon by a score of 3-6, 7-5, 2-6.

Notes:

This was the debuts for Bonet De Freitas, Mouton, Forsyth and Carvalho-Landell.

The Manatees were the first team to open the 2021 season.

Up Next:

The Manatees will open Region 8 Conference play as they are on the road facing first Eastern Florida State in Melbourne (2/12) before traveling to Tampa to take on Hillsborough.

“We are expecting a tough match,” said Murphy on EFSC, but are excited to face the challenge.”

Side Note: This was the first postgame interview with Menendez.