The ETSU women’s tennis team took on the Wofford Terriers at home on March 7. The Terriers left Johnson City with a loss as the Buccaneers crushed them 7-0.
The Bucs are now 2-0 in the conference, 9-4 overall and on a six-game winning streak.
“We put in the hard work all year, and we are getting to our potential playing some good teams and playing some great tennis,” said head coach Ricardo Rojas. “I’m very proud of our hard work and what it is leading to.”
Starting out in singles play, sophomore Laylo Bakhodirva (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) defeated junior Jenna Vroman 6-4, 6-1. Junior Alejandra Morales (Santiago, Chile) defeated freshman Georgia Fischer 7-6, 6-4. Senior Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basauri, Spain) took down sophomore Liz Massie 6-1, 6-3.
Sophomore Raquel Amaro (Caracas, Venezuela) beat sophomore Lilie Steryous 6-2, 6-1. Freshman Maria Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) defeated junior Brittney Wilbur 6-1, 6-1, and finally sophomore Yunuen Elizarraras (Cuernavaca, Mexico) defeated sophomore Alexandra Hidell 6-0, 6-2.
Pascual-Larrinaga has had an amazing season going 9-1 out of her previous 10 matches and winning six singles matches in a row.
“If they win, I feel more comfortable with myself – and of course hard work in practice,” said Pascual-Larrinaga.
The Bucs have had an impressive singles season.
“The confidence we build from the previous matches,” said Rojas. “I think everybody, one through six, is getting better as the season progresses. We have had some great leadership that’s been working hard throughout the whole year. I’m very proud of our group.”
The Bucs also performed impressive doubles matches against the Terriers. Bakhodirova and Morales defeated Massie and Vroman 6-3. Amaro and Pascual-Larrinaga defeated junior Kay Kluska and Steryous 7-5, while freshman Michelle de Haan (Drenthe, Netherlands) and Carvajal had the only Bucs loss against Fischer and Wilbur 4-6.
Amaro and Pascual-Larrinaga have been doubles partners for a while now this season winning both conference games so far.
“We need to have good chemistry in and out of the court,” said Pascual-Larrinaga. “We both have good energy. Apart from connecting [well,] we have chemistry and energy.”
The Bucs’ next competition is March 14 against North Florida.
