INCARNATE WORD 5, ST. EDWARD’S 4
It was a battle royal Saturday morning and into mid-afternoon as Incarnate Word came roaring back in women’s tennis to hang a narrow 5-4 loss on Heartland Conference rival St. Edward’s.
And there were story lines on almost every court.
The crowning blow, and the match winner, got underway somewhere around 12:15 p.m. It was singles number two and it was between Stephanie Rodriguez and the Hilltoppers’ Audrey Tompkins. It ended after 3 p.m. when in the tie-breaker Rodriguez changed her ways and won the final two points for the 7-3 margin and the match, her own and the team’s.
“I was just trying to get myself to win my serve,” Rodriguez said afterwards. “When I was up 4-1 in the tie-breaker I needed someone to push me and I was saying ‘where is Dre’ (UIW graduate assistant Coach Andrea Prieto). She is always here to push me so I had to just kept pushing myself.” Prieto and the Cardinals players did move courtside to cheer on their teammate.
This marathon found Rodriguez winning the first set 6-2 and getting ahead 4-1 in the second on the way to what looked like a straight-set win. And the Cardinals needed a win here just to stay in the match as St. Edward’s had won two of three doubles and quickly won singles one and six to lead 4-1.
While Rodriguez was struggling to gain some momentum, UIW got a win at number four from Erica Engberg in three sets to get it to 4-2. Then Gretchen Trautmann won at number three, also in three sets, and it was 4-3.
Karen Rodriguez won 10 consecutive games to close out her singles match.
And while Rodriguez and Tompkins were headed to a third set, Karen Rodriguez lost a set at number six and was down 3-2 in the second when she stepped on the gas. She won four straight to capture set two at 6-3 and then blew her opponent away winning in the third by 6-0. That made it 4-4 overall and all eyes turned to Stephanie Rodriguez and Tompkins.
Tompkins won the second set 6-4 after coming back from that 4-1 deficit In the third, the supposedly deciding set three, Rodriguez broke serve to even it at 3-3. That break would begin a stretch of six consecutive service breaks leading to the tie-breaker, a prediction come true from UIW Coach John Newman who earlier quietly said “this match deserves a tie-breaker.”
This was when Rodriguez changed her modus operandi. She broke for a 2-1 advantage and suddenly she held her own serve twice for 3-1. It was 5-2 after Tompkins continued her pattern and double-faulted. Rodriguez held again at 6-3 and then forced Tompkins to hit a backhand into the net for set, match and team match point.
These teams are ranked nationally, St. Edward’s at 14th and Incarnate Word at 25th. This tense encounter would well be a precursor for the Heartland’s championship tournament set for late April as well as the NCAA Division II South Central regional tournament in early May.
DOUBLES
1) Paige Rachel-Audrey Tompkins, SEU, d. Adrianna Hernandez-Gretchen Trautmann, UIW, 9-8 (11-9)
2) Mary Bain-Elizabeth Jacobi, SEU, d. Erica Engberg-Alex Adams, UIW, 8-6
3) Stephanie Rodriguez-Karen Rodriguez, UIW, d. Heather Brien-Caryn McGraw, SEU, 8-3
SINGLES
1) Rachel, SEU, d. Hernandez, UIW, 7-5, 6-1
2) S. Rodriguez, UIW, d. Tompkins, SEU, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
3) Trautmann, UIW, d. Bain, SEU, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
4) Engberg, UIW, d. Jacobi, SEU, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
5) Brien, SEU, d. Adams, UIW, 6-2, 6-2
6) K. Rodriguez, UIW, d. McGraw, SEU, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
RECORDS:
St. Edward’s 5-8 (2-1)
Incarnate Word 12-4 (5-0)