SUMTER, S.C. - The Northwest Mississippi Community College women's tennis team saw great success in singles and doubles on the first day of competition in the NJCAA DII Women's Tennis National Championship at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
The Rangers were simply dominant on the singles courts, winning five out of the six matches played.
The only match a player from NWCC lost was a nail-biter between Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez and Coastal Alabama's Nadja Walter. Although she had two break points, Ortiz-Sánchez ultimately lost the first set and suffered a close second set defeat as well.
Northwest only gave up seven games across their five match victories in singles, with Meg Daves and Brooke Kicker both not giving up a game in either set. Laura Cámara Blanco and Ava McCain were able to add to the strong Northwest outing by not giving up a game in the first set of their respective singles matches.
"I thought we did what we were supposed to do. We got five of six girls through," Head Coach Ryan Mounce said. "Of course we'd love to get Angela (Ortiz-Sánchez) through. She played a really talented opponent, and we just didn't quite get it done, but credit to her opponent."
Like in singles, the Rangers dominated in their three doubles matches of the day.
The most impressive win came from a three-set victory from the #1 doubles court of Cámara Blanco and Claudia Lopez Chaparro. Although they lost the first set, the duo was able to move on and emphatically win the second set 6-1. This momentum carried them through a tough third set, eventually winning the set 6-4 to clinch the match.
When the Oxford College of Emory team attempted a comeback in the last set of the match, the message was clear.
"I was just thinking it was the last games. We have to lock in and focus," Cámara Blanco said. "Don't go out of the mind."
The #2 doubles team of Daves and Ortiz-Sánchez played a quick, straightforward match, and only dropped one game throughout two sets.
Like Daves and Ortiz-Sánchez, the #3 doubles court of Kicker and McCain were able to secure a quick win while only giving up one game throughout their two sets of action.
Northwest will continue their journey in the NJCAA DII Women's Tennis National Tournament tomorrow with main draw singles action starting at 8 A.M. CT and singles and doubles play continuing throughout the day.
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's tennis team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
Main Draw Singles (May 3)
- Nadja Walter (Coastal Alabama) def. Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez (NWCC) 7-5, 6-4
- Claudia Lopez Chaparro (NWCC) def. Aida Torrealba (Mercer) 6-1, 6-1
- Laura Cámara Blanco (NWCC) def. Arielle Tefiku (Sauk Valley) 6-0, 6-3
- Meg Daves (NWCC) def. Julia Rhodes (Sauk Valley) 6-0, 6-0
- Brooke Kicker (NWCC) def. Destiny Pipino (Hudson Valley) 6-0, 6-0
- Ava McCain (NWCC) def. Mina James (Illinois Valley) 6-0, 6-2
Main Draw Doubles (May 3)
- Laura Cámara Blanco/Claudia Lopez Chaparro (NWCC) def. Rachel Blais/Zari Haque (Oxford College of Emory) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Meg Daves/Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez (NWCC) def. Julia Rhodes/Arielle Tefiku (Sauk Valley) 6-0, 6-1
- Brooke Kicker/Ava McCain (NWCC) def. Allison Barker/Rachael Summers (Gloucester) 6-1, 6-0
