DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In their final fall tournament of the year, the women's tennis team pushed themselves to the limit during the Juan Varon Memorial Wildcat Tennis Invitational hosted by Bethune-Cookman.
The event consisted of teams from a variety of divisions making for challenging competition throughout the three-day event. The host site consisted of clay courts which proved to be a challenge for the Tritons as well as altered rules, including no deuce advantages and eight-game pro sets in the consolation bracket of singles play. In total, the women competed in 29 individual matches over the weekend.
Head coach
Ben Maxwell knew what awaited his young team, but he left the event with pride through the effort the six women showed on the courts.
"I'm proud of the women this weekend. They went into the tournament knowing they had very strong opponents, and they fought hard all weekend," he said. "Everyone's effort this past month is showing on the court during matches, and we are continuing to get stronger."
That fight was put on display by
Isabella Wong during her first round matchup in the "Cookman Singles" draw against Ancia Ifill from BCU, an NCAA Division-I program. Wong dropped the first set 1-6 and trailed 1-4 in the second set, but she managed to fight within reach before losing the second set 5-7. With a bye in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket, Wong was able to rest while holding onto that momentum with an 8-6 semifinal victory over Julia Cusumano from Palm Beach Atlantic. However, she would eventually fall in the championship round.
MaryAnn Aaron also picked up a big 6-0, 6-2 opening round victory over Saint Petersburg College's Sofia Sanchez in the "White Singles" bracket before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual runner-up.
Laurence Bourgault also defeated Sanchez later in the event, 8-2.Having competed in the "Juancho Singles" draw, Maddie Carlson avenged an earlier loss in doubles against Madison Burnett in a singles matchup, 8-6, for third place finish in the consolation bracket.
With the fall season coming to a close, Maxwell has his sights on the upcoming spring schedule where he feels the team will come into its own after competing in more matches.
"Match play is something all of the girls need right now, and this weekend was exactly what they needed," he said. "We will have a few days off before we finish our fall season. I know we are all looking forward to the spring."
