SAN ANGELO, Texas (April 12, 2025) – In their first match since the announcement of Hutton Jones as head coach, No. 21 Lubbock Christian University delivered a statement road victory, taking down No. 31 Angelo State 5-2 in a Lone Star Conference women's tennis dual Saturday at ASU Tennis Complex. The Lady Chaps (14-5, 4-2 LSC) used a strong finish in doubles and early dominance in singles to seize control and never look back in their first match under Jones' direction.
LCU opened the dual by claiming the doubles point, though not without early tension. The duo of
Anastasiia Opolska and
AnaMaria Zoric cruised to a 6-1 win on Court 2, followed shortly by a clinching 6-3 decision at No. 3 from
Oshini Herath and
Mariia Koroleva. Angelo State (12-6, 1-5 LSC) avoided a sweep a point on the top line, with Eva Schwartz and Avery Durham, ranked No. 12 nationally, edging LCU's No. 13-ranked tandem of
Axelle Jacquemin and
Andrea De Bernardo, 7-5. The doubles order of finish went 2, 3, 1.
Singles play began with LCU's depth on full display. Herath set the tone with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win on Court 6 to push the Lady Chaps ahead 2-0.
Maya Adler followed on Court 4, blanking Avery Durham 6-0, 6-1 to widen the gap. Angelo State got on the board with a straight-set win at No. 3, where Jessica Li downed Koroleva 6-3, 6-1, trimming the margin to 3-1.
AnaMaria Zoric clinched the dual for the Lady Chaps shortly thereafter, powering past Ivet Stancheva 6-4, 6-3 at the fifth line to make it 4-1. The Rambelles grabbed a second point with a dramatic three-set tiebreak win at No. 2 singles, as Margaux Rene edged
Andrea De Bernardo 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3). In the final match of the day, No. 43 Opolska secured a ranked win over No. 75 Schwartz at the top flight, outlasting her 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 in a battle of nationally ranked opponents to set the final margin.
Key performers for LCU included Herath and Zoric, who each posted dominant wins in both singles and doubles. Herath (12-2 overall in singles) grabbed her seventh consecutive singles win and remains unbeaten in duals (9-0) and in LSC play (4-0). Zoric moved into the team lead in singles victories this season (18-3). She joined Herath with her seventh consecutive win and is now 6-0 in LSC play (she is also 17-1 in duals). Opolska was equally vital, notching two victories including a top-flight singles win over a ranked opponent (16-7 overall and leads LCU with two wins over nationally ranked opponents).
The result marks a successful debut under Coach Jones, as they were able to rebound from Thursday's loss at Texas A&M-Kingsville. LCU returns home Friday at 10 a.m. to host Western New Mexico.