Lady Saints Win 1 of Final 3 in OKC
Following an emotional win Thursday against Seminole State, the Seward County Lady Saints were unable to keep their momentum going on Friday and Saturday as they were able to win just one of their final three matches in the Trojan Dual Classic hosted by Seminole State.
In their first match of the classic the Lady Saints took on 7th ranked North Central Texas. While the Lady Saints were strong at the top, they struggled at the bottom of their lineup. The Lady Saints #1 duo of Paula Lopez and Paula Coyos, ranked #5 in the country, had no trouble with Georgina Gosen and Katy Foster in #1 doubles action, downing the pair 8-2 to give Seward a 1-0 lead in the match. Seward didn't have as much luck at their other two doubles spots as North Central was able to pick up the points with 8-2 wins at both #2 and #3 doubles to take the 2-1 lead into singles action.
In #1 singles action 14th ranked Lopez picked up an easy win over 23rd ranked Gosen 6-2, 6-1 to give Seward their second point of the day. 27th ranked Coyos gave Seward a 3-2 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Alex Rodriguez in #2 singles action, but from there on it was all Lady Lions. Seward was able to win just 2 total games from #3 to #6 singles as North Central dominated to finish off the match with four straight wins to take the dual 6-3.
#16 SEWARD COUNTY/#7 NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS MATCH RESULTS
Later on Friday the Lady Saints looked to get their momentum back as they took on #25 Jacksonville in their second match of the day. Seward took a 3-0 lead after doubles action as Jacksonville failed to fill a team at #3 doubles and Lopez/Coyos as well as Kathryn Roohan and Jackie Arnold had no trouble at #1 and #2 doubles, winning 8-0 and 8-2 respectively for the Lady Saints to give them the early advantage.
It was more dominance for the Lady Saints as singles action got underway. Lopez and Coyos breezed to wins at #1 and #2 singles, losing just 1 game combined to put Seward up 5-0 and 6-1, 6-1 wins from Roohan and Naomie Bukassa at #3 and #5 play gave the Lady Saints a 7-0 advantage. Grace Golden got a default win at #6 singles to make it 8-0 and Seward was on the way to the sweep before Arnold was forced to retire because of an injury to give Jacksonville their only point of the match as Seward went on to win 8-1.
#16 SEWARD COUNTY/#25 JACKSONVILLE MATCH RESULTS
Seward was scheduled to play #5 Collin County early on Sunday, but the Lady Saints cancelled the match to try to rest and focus for their next scheduled match against #1 Tyler. The strategy didn't seem to work against the powerful Apaches. In a classic matchup at #1 doubles, Tyler's top ranked duo of Fausthy Piertretz and Jordyn Saava eeked out an 8-6 win over 5th ranked Lopez and Coyos to give the Apaches a lead and Tyler didn't lose a game in #2 or #3 doubles to take a 3-0 lead on Seward.
Tyler showed their dominance on the court, winning #3, #4, #5, and #6 singles matches all by the scores of 6-0, 6-0 against the Lady Saints to go up 7-0 while the two best matches of the day expectedly came at #1 and #2 singles. In #1 action 2nd ranked Piertretz won a drawn out match against 14th ranked Lopez, coming from behind to take the point with a 2-6, 6-4, 10-4 win to make it 8-0. In #2 play, Tyler rested one of their stars and inserted 29th ranked Nikki Johnson instead and Seward took advantage as 27th ranked Coyos won a thriller 7-6, 5-7, 10-4 to earn Seward's only point of the match as they fell 8-1.
#16 SEWARD COUNTY/#1 TYLER MATCH RESULTS
The Lady Saints fall to 6-4 on the season after the weekend while their individual match record goes to 48-42.
Next up for the 16th ranked Lady Saints is a Region VI matchup with rival Johnson County in Wichita on Tuesday.