Horned Frogs won the singles competition and came in second in doubles at the finals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional, played Monday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Junior Nina Munch-Soegaard took home the singles championship to clinch a spot at the ITA indoor championships at the University of Virginia beginning Nov. 6.
“I played really well today,” Munch-Soegaard said after her 6-0, 6-3 win over No. 34 Taylor Ormand of Baylor University.
Munch-Soegaard, ranked No. 47, also beat the No. 15 and No. 24-ranked singles players on her way to the title.
“I’m exhausted and so sore I can barely walk,” Munch-Soegaard said about her long weekend. She also reached the doubles semifinals with her sophomore partner Maria Babinova.
But she said it was worth all of the aches and pains to get the spot at her first indoor championships.
“I’m very ready for indoors,” Munch-Soegaard said. “I’m excited I get to go.”
This will be her first trip to the indoor championships, but she hopes to keep her momentum rolling.
“I’m playing well, winning a lot of matches,” Munch-Soegaard said. “I just want to keep it going.”
Head coach Jefferson Hammond said he was particularly happy for Munch-Soegaard.
“She had a great tourney,” Hammond said. “She is so mentally strong, she believed in herself, she enjoyed the stage and came home the victor in smashing fashion.”
The coach also said Munch-Soegaard is well-deserving of her spot at the ITA indoor championships.
“She has been so close the last couple years to getting into the big two, the Indoor and NCAA (Championships),” Hammond said. “For her to finally make it as a junior is real satisfying for her and the program.”
The doubles duo of seniors Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska, ranked No. 9, lost 8-4 in the doubles final to the No. 11 pair of Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg from LSU.
“I wish we would have won,” Harkins said. “But I think we played well in all of our matches.”
Harkins and Sydorska still have a chance of making the Indoor Championships with an at-large bid.
“We are going to hear about the indoors on Thursday to see if we get in,” Harkins said. “If we don’t get in, we are done for the fall.”
Overall, Hammond said he is proud of the effort his team showed during this tournament.
“Everybody has worked very hard,” Hammond said. “We have battled from behind in many matches in the early round.”
The coach also said he is proud of what his team did throughout the fall season.
“We have showed across the board that we are deep, and we have strength up front,” Hammond said. “In order to be one of the elite teams in the NCAA, you have to be very strong up front as well as deep.”
