The Cyclones had one of their best showings ever at the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship in Tyler, Texas, May 6-9, finishing 21st out of 29 teams as well as a fifth place finish by Aubree Schultz.
Competing among the country's best is no easy feat and challenging to even secure one win let alone several. The talented Cyclones had plenty to prove after winning the NJCAA Region IV title back in October to qualify them for nationals.
To start off their solid run, Hannah Markiewicz at No. 3 singles (6-3, 6-2) and Reagan Cameron at No. 6 (6-4, 6-3) each won their first matches of the tournament. This is Cameron's first season ever playing tennis. Schultz, at No. 4 singles, lost her first match 6-2, 6-2, but that was the last losing singles match of her time in Texas. She paired with Cate Gerl at No. 2 doubles that same day and battled through a three-set tiebreaker (1-6, 7-6, 5-7).
In the consolation quarterfinals, Schultz dominated her opponent 8-2 to advance to the semifinals (8-5) and then the consolation finals (8-4) for a fifth place finish overall.
"After I won, I was so proud of myself. When I lost that first match in the NJCAA tournament, I just knew that wasn't going to be it for me. I have been training all through the spring, playing against the men's tennis team and training nonstop with my teammates," Schultz said. "I am beyond thankful that my coaches never gave up on me when competing in this tournament!"
At No. 2 singles, Simona Tomczak narrowly won her consolation quarterfinal 9-8 but fell in the semifinal 1-8 the next day. Tomczak partnered with Erica Chapan at No. 3 doubles and lost their first match (0-6, 0-6), battled for a win in the consolation quarterfinal 9-8 and lost in the semifinal 1-8.
"I am very happy with how we did at nationals. We completely exceeded our expectations. We were projected to finish 26th to 30th, and we ended up placing 21st, which is amazing," said Assistant Coach Dave Souza. "We had a couple fresh round wins in the main draw, which was awesome as well. We also had Aubree win her consolation bracket and ended up placing fifth, which I believe is our best finish at nationals. It was an extremely fun trip, and I hope we can do it again."
May 6
No. 1 singles, Izabella Slezakova- 0-6, 2-6
No. 2, Simona Tomczak- 0-6, 0-6
No. 3, Hannah Markiewicz- 6-3, 6-2
No. 4, Aubree Schultz- 2-6, 2-6
No. 5, Cate Gerl- 2-6, 0-6
No. 6, Reagan Cameron- 6-4, 6-3
No. 1 doubles, Markiewicz/Slezakova- 0-6, 0-6
No. 2, Gerl/Schultz- 1-6, 7-6, 5-7
No. 3, Erica Chapan/Tomczak- 0-6, 0-6
May 7
Markiewicz- 0-6, 0-6
Cameron- 0-6, 0-6
May 8
Slezakova consolation quarterfinal- 0-8
Tomczak consolation quarterfinal- 9-8
Schultz consolation quarterfinal- 8-2
Gerl consolation quarterfinal- 3-8
Markiewicz/Slezakova consolation quarterfinal- 4-8
Gerl/Schultz consolation quarterfinal- 0-8
Chapan/Tomczak- consolation quarterfinal 9-8
May 9
Tomczak consolation semifinal- 1-8
Schultz consolation semifinal- 8-5
Schultz consolation final- 8-4
Chapan/Tomczak consolation semifinal- 1-8
For complete results, visit here.
