Wildcats win both LSC tennis titles

Men rally behind Puglia; women whitewash Northeastern State, 5-0

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Evan Puglia has become accustomed to the pressure that comes with playing No. 6 singles for the ACU Wildcats.

Six times this season, ACU  has won matches 5-4, and four times those matches have come down to the outcome of Puglia's match.  Friday was no different as Puglia -- a sophomore from Plano -- rallied to beat Cameron's Marco Valdez, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to give the ACU men (24-5 overall and ranked 25th in the nation) the Lone Star Conference tennis championship with a 5-4 win over the Aggies.

The ACU women -- 26-5 overall and ranked 15th in the nation -- had an easier time Friday, whipping Northeastern State, 5-0, to win the women's LSC title, the Wildcats' 17th women's title since 1985.  The Wildcats' win enabled them to avenge last season's upset loss to the Lady Reds in the conference tournament championship match.  The ACU women won the tournament in dominating fashion, winning all three matches 5-0.

As impressive as the women's play was, Puglia's play on Friday might have been more impressive.

With the men's championship match tied at 4-4, Puglia dropped the first set to Valdez and then fell behind 3-0 in the second set as the Aggies neared their first LSC men's tennis title.  But Puglia battled back to win six straight games in the second set to win the set 6-3.  He then won the third set 6-4 to put an end to the marathon five-hour match, and give the Wildcats their third straight conference title and seventh since 1988.

"Evan had been in this situation before this season, so he was accustomed to the pressure," ACU head coach Hutton Jones said.  "He's mentally tough, and he proved it again today.  We knew the match against Cameron was going to come down to the wire, and just like last year (a 5-4 ACU win over Cameron in the final), it went our way."

On the women's side, the Wildcats got off to a nice start, winning all three doubles matches, including at No. 1 doubles where Colleen Reynolds and Rachel Taylor hammered the No. 6 team in the nation, Holly McKee and Berit Itschert, 8-1.  That seemed to set the tone as the Wildcats won the other two doubles matches 8-4 and 8-0.

Reynolds went on to beat McKee at No. 1 singles, and Summer Beesley beat Itschert at No. 2 singles to give the Wildcats the conference title.

"We were just unbelievably dominating on the women's side," Jones said.  "I thought we could perform like that, but you just never know if you'll go out and dominate the way you're capable of dominating.  But it was very sweet to avenge last year's loss."

The conference championships should give both ACU teams the right to host NCAA Division II Central Region tournaments May 6-7 or 7-8 at the Eager Tennis Center on the ACU campus.  Those sites and bids will be released Wednesday.

LSC MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Ablene Christian 5, Cameron 4
     Doubles: Ivor Hitrec/Oscar Guerra, CU, def. Casper Steenkamp/Jason Ray, 8-6; George Carstens/Evan Puglia, ACU, def. Alex Furlan/Gustavo Blanco, 8-4; Marco Valdez/Nathan McCulloch, CU, def. Trent Broach/Kevin Beedy, 8-4.
     Singles: Steenkamp, ACU, def. Hitrec, 6-4, 6-4; Ray, ACU, def. Furlan, 6-4, 6-4; Guerra, CU, def. Carstens, 6-2, 7-5; Blanco, CU, def. Broach, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Clayton Morgan, ACU, def. Jorge Zabrodiec, 6-1, 6-2; Puglia, ACU, def. Valdez, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

LSC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Abilene Christian 5, Northeastern State 0
     Doubles: Colleen Reynolds/Rachel Taylor, ACU, def. Holly McKee/Berit Itschert, 8-1; Summer Beesley/Joy Israel, ACU, def. Simona Stoica/Kelli Sturm, 8-4; Holly Lindloff/Lana Pavlin, ACU, def. Jennie Howard/Michelle Bartlett, 8-0.
     Singles: Reynolds, ACU, def. McKee, 6-0, 6-2; Beesley, ACU, def. Itschert, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.