March 21, 2008
Aggie Tennis faces elite in Florida
PENSACOLA, Florida (March 21) – The Cameron Aggie tennis teams returned from Pensacola, Florida, yesterday after taking part in the week-long West Florida University Invitational. Both the CU men’s (11-1) and women’s (5-6) teams took part in the event, which featured some of the top teams in the entire nation. Elite teams from the NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA matched-up with the Aggies all week long. The Aggie men went 4-1 over the week, while the Aggie women went 1-3.
“We played a lot of tough competition,” Head Coach James Helvey said. “We played some nationally ranked teams and competed at their level, and were able to win a few matches.”
The Aggie men’s team entered the tournament ranked #11 nationally, while the Aggie women’s team began the tournament as the #30 team in the nation. Both squads played their opponents very tough.
Cameron’s men’s team started the week against #13 Anderson University (Division II), a South Carolina school. The Aggies took care of business and won the match 6-3. CU won all three doubles matches and split the six singles matches. Cameron won the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 singles matches.
Junior Daniel Pazos (ranked #46 nationally) had a very impressive afternoon in the No. 2 singles match, defeating Anderson’s Jan Schiebler 6-0, 6-4. Pazos then teamed up with CU senior Jordi Mullor to win the No. 1 doubles match, 8-3.
“Anderson is a very tough team,” Coach Helvey said. “They should probably be ranked higher than #18.”
After disposing of Anderson, the Aggie men’s team faced off against #12 Berry College (NAIA), a school from Georgia. Cameron looked even better in this match, winning the contest 7-2. In the match CU once again won all three doubles matches, and only dropped the No. 1 and No. 6 singles matches.
Earlier this week the Cameron men took on #8 Ouachita Baptist (Division II), an Arkansas team that Cameron had yet to play this season. This match was much more challenging as Ouachita was the highest ranked competition CU had faced in all of 2008. The Aggies came out on top 5-4, after winning all three doubles matches for the third team match in a row. Cameron then went on to win the No. 4 and No. 6 singles matches for the overall victory.
Cameron’s final match of the event, but not the trip, came against host University of West Florida (Division II), the #4 team in the nation. In CU’s only loss the entire week, the men fell 5-4 to WFU. Cameron put together a great match and won the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6 singles matches, in addition to the No. 3 doubles match.
“We were tired,” Coach Helvey said. “It was our fourth match in four days and we let it get away from us. If we had won it would have probably moved us into the top four nationally.”
After departing Florida, Cameron made a pit-stop in Alabama to take on the University of West Alabama. The Aggie men’s team once again took care of business and ended the trip on a great note, an 8-1 victory over UWA. The Aggies won all three doubles matches for the fourth time all week, and dropped only the No. 6 singles match.
“Wins like these will really help us going into the second half of the season after spring break,” Coach Helvey said. “I’m seeing a high, high level of confidence from our players and hopefully that continues. It puts a different perspective on things when you come back and have knocked off national teams; you’re starting to feel pretty good about yourself.”
On the women’s side, the Cameron women’s team battled three of the same five schools as their male counterparts. The team started out the week against #75 Lamar University (Division I), and lost 7-0. The Aggies put together a string of very hard-fought matches against Lamar, and nearly won four of the matches.
“I'm real proud of the girls,” Coach Helvey said. “We are playing well against top teams. When we get home and play fellow Lone Star Conference teams we will be more prepared and ready.”
The Cameron women next battled against #7 Berry College (NAIA) and came away with a tough 5-4 defeat. CU started the match winning two of the three doubles matches, but only won two of the six singles matches. Cameron won the No. 1 singles match thanks to junior Irene George (#33) who defeated Berry’s Emma Cruz 6-0, 7-6 (7-3). Freshman Whitney Renfurm also won her No. 6 singles match over Rachael Feibelman, 7-5, 6-1.
Next for the Aggie women was #18 West Florida, the host of the tournament. Cameron was swept 9-0 but put together a few very close matches and nearly won all three doubles matches. CU also had a chance to win a few of the singles matches, coming up just a few games short.
“Our girls played well,” Coach Helvey said. “We played well in every match against some really tough teams.”
Upon leaving Florida, the Aggie women’s team traveled to Alabama to take on West Alabama University on the same afternoon as the CU men’s team. Cameron got their first win of the week with a 6-2 defeat of UWA. The Aggies looked solid throughout and won two of the three doubles matches and four of the five singles matches.
“In our victory over West Alabama we were ready to beat up on someone,” Coach Helvey said. “When we step on the court against Dallas Baptist hopefully the experience we gained this week will carry over onto court.”
Both the Aggie men’s and women’s tennis teams host the Dallas Baptist University Patriots next Wednesday, March 26, at 1:00pm at the CU Tennis Center. Remember Aggie fans, parking and admission is always free to home matches at the CU Tennis Center.
Updated national tennis team rankings are scheduled to come out in about two weeks, sometime around April 1-2. Coach Helvey expects some movement for the Aggies on the men’s side, but none on the women’s side.
“I was very pleased with how we took care of business this week,” Coach Helvey said. “I expect the men to move into the top eight, and naturally expect the women to stay in the top thirty. That is fine with me, there is still lots of season to play.”