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Tennis gains confidence ahead of tough schedule

The Jets put on an impressive display on Saturday as both the men and women’s tennis teams beat Bethany College comfortably.

The men and women swept the opposition winning 4-0 and 7-0, respectively. Arthur Justo and  Lauri Soom were down 5-2 in their doubles match before turning the score around to win 7-5. Soome was pleased with the result.

“It felt good being able to fight back and win,” Soome said. “It gives us confidence for the next games.”

The women’s team were left puzzled due to their opposition only showing up with two players out of six. The women were awarded 6-0 victories against the no shows. The results leave the men with a record of 6-12 and the women with a record of 11-9 on the season.

The performance comes just two days after their trip to Dallas, where they faced Texas-Permian Basin.

After rain delayed the start of the games for three hours, the men’s team were beaten 4-0 by a talented Texas-Permain Basin team.

Vlada Litvinova, Iszabela Bifano, Mirella Calvalcanti and  Emily Young won in the singles competition for the women’s team. The Jets beat their opposition in all three doubles games making the final score 5-2.

The Newman tennis team will be in Dallas this weekend to play against two of the best tennis teams in the conference. They play St. Edwards on Friday and then play St Mary’s the following day.

Litvinova is looking forward to the competition. “Getting the opportunity to beat a nationally ranked athlete motivates me,” Litvinova said. “I know it won’t be easy but I’ll do my best to get the win.”

Young will be looking to take the momentum from her previous results to extend her four match winning streak.

“St Marys and St Edwards are really strong teams,” Young said. “We haven’t beaten them while I’ve been here, so we all will have to be at our best.”

PHOTO: BOTH MEN AND WOMEN’S tennis teams beat Bethany College leaving the men 6-12 and the women 11-9 for the current season.  Courtesy photo, Newman Athletics