The Roadrunners extended their winning streak after closing out Saturday’s matchup against Tarleton State 4-3 at the UTSA Tennis Center.
The ‘Runners (11-0) dropped their doubles point to the Texans (4-3) but came up triumphant, clinching all four points during singles. Sophomore Ekua Youri and junior Arina Babenko proved that they stand on business; Babenko swept Clara Sobius 6-0, 6-0 and Youri followed the Russian’s lead to finish off her opponent 6-2, 6-1. The game boiled down to a heated showdown between sophomore Vittoria Baccino and Maria Castano, the only singles match to carry out three sets. Baccino fought Castano for nearly an hour and struggled through hand cramps for half that time, but the sacrifice of her comfort allowed her to beat her counterpart to earn the team its 11th win of the season.
“They have really good doubles all the time,” coach Ki Kroll said. “I was hoping that we could match the doubles and we stayed pretty close, we won one of the doubles but lost the second and third. But when you’re playing a really good team like this, it’s really hard to win four singles points out of six, so that was a difficult task.”
Baccino and Castano were the only players left standing after Youri, Babenko and freshman Valeria Sanchez won their singles to level out the match at 3-3.
The Italian and the Dominican natives both fought hard through long rallies in pursuit of the same goal. Both competitors made the other run for the ball and as both the women raced from one side of the court to the next, attempting to tire each other out, Baccino had to not only fight off the intensity of the match but the intensity she was feeling from her cramped hand.
“I was fighting,” Baccino said. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna run, put the ball in the court. Run, put the ball in the court,’ And that’s when I was trying to make her tired. Because in the second set, I was tired, but I’m really happy. I think this was one of my longest and favorite matches that I’ve ever done.”
The women’s team stood adjacent on the next court over as they cheered on Baccino through her third set, and staying after their two-day matchup against Texas Tech, the men’s tennis team rallied behind court three to cheer on Baccino in her final sets as well.
“I love doing a show when I play, so when everyone was there, I love that I feel that pressure,” Baccino said. “I love when a lot of people are watching, and I love college tennis.”
Baccino won on her return to finish the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
“It was a special match; we wanted to win this,” Baccino said. “Even if I did cramp, I did my best for the team because I wanted to win.”
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