The Prairie View A&M University men’s and women’s tennis teams suffered a loss Thursday against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Head Coach John Cochran said, “It was decent but had too many errors; both teams need to put pressure on the opponent.”
Cochran sat both teams down after the match and had the players address their faults and what they need to do in order to improve for the next upcoming matches in Arkansas.
The men played their first through fifth singles, four of which were won by TAMU-CC, and one match went unfinished. Third singles Ronald Chidzikwe, who played against George Weindinger of TAMU-CC and fourth singles Kris Powell, who played against Matt Westmoreland of TAMU-CC, exhibited the best performance in their matches. Chidikwe ended his match with the score at 6-3, 6-1, and Powell ended at 6-0, 6-3.
Men’s doubles played their first through third doubles players, two of which were losses and one match that was not finished. First doubles players Kris Powell and Karim Fotso gave their all when they played Robert Raguz and Nathan Robinson of TAMU-CC, ending the match with a final score of 8-5.
The women’s tennis ran their first through fourth and seventh singles; all matches ended in TAMU-CC’s favor. First singles Lerato Karenzi fought for her heart during the match, forcing Cicak of TAMU-CC to play 3 battling rounds before her loss; the final scores were 6-2, 4-6, and10-6.
Women’s doubles played their first through third doubles as well; TAMU-CC gained a win from all three matches played. The Panthers gave their all and did not give up, even when they were losing. Third doubles players Alejandra Barrera and Lise Karenzi came the closest out of all three matches to steal a win, ending their match with a final score of 8-2.
Powell said, “Scars remind us of where we have been, but they don’t dictate where we are going.” Although the match may have been a loss, it is also a lesson learned and the team can grow and push past it.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are set to play the next SWAC matches in Arkansas Friday and Saturday against Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Jackson State University, Alabama State University, and Alabama A&M University.