LONG BEACH, Calif. – Tarleton’s record at the LBSU Invitational won’t exactly say it by itself, but the Texans competed this weekend in Long Beach at the LBCC Sand Courts against some of the nation’s top teams.
Tarleton State lost at No. 9 Long Beach State 5-0 and 5-0 against Concordia on Saturday, before a 3-2 loss to California State Bakersfield and 5-0 loss to Arizona on Sunday. Tarleton State has lost six straight to fall to 4-8, although it’s evident the program is still on the rise. Not only was Long Beach State a top-10 ranked team nationally, but both Concordia and Arizona received votes as well, essentially ranked No. 26 and No. 27, respectively.
Tarleton’s best effort came against CSU Bakersfield, where a 2-2 team score came down to the final court in a neck-and-neck affair. Tarleton dropped that clinching match 21-19 21-19 to barely miss out on a victory in the Texans’ first out-of-state event of the season. Tarleton earned wins on Court 1 and Court 4 against CSU Bakersfield, as Emma Halcomb and Allison Bryant defeated Paola Caten and Sarah Martin 21-11 21-12, plus Olivia Fuentes and Charlize Ching defeated Bailey Combs and Olivia Silacci-Jensen 21-14 21-19.
Otherwise the Texans lost all their other matches played, with the closest happening against Concordia. Halcomb and Bryant lost a three-set battle on Court 1 against Kelissa Lemoine and Korah Nordin 18-21 21-10 12-15, and Bella Parayno paired with Amaya Brown on Court 2 lost a three-set battle against Cameron Solberg and Sara Ostojic 21-11 10-21 3-15. In the previously mentioned final match against CSU Bakersfield, it was Tarleton’s Sofia Bendele and Christian Mitchell losing 19-21 19-21 to Olivia Ostler and Vianna Garcia.
Head coach Dayna Masters played with different pairings throughout the weekend on Courts 2-5. Parayno and Brown played on Court 2 both matches on Saturday, while Grayson Schirpik paired with Hayden Huber played on Court 3 both matches on Saturday. The two pairs flipped spots for both matches on Sunday. After playing their first two matches on Court 5 on Saturday like they have all season, Ching and Fuentes were elevated to Court 4 for both matches on Sunday. Bendele and Mitchell played together three times, the first two on Court 4 Saturday, then against CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. Camilla Chun made her Texan debut on Sunday against Arizona, playing on Court 5 with Bendele.
Through 12 matches played this season, Halcomb and Bryant are 6-6 together, all at No. 1. Tarleton’s top pair by record on Court 2 is Parayno and Schirpik at 3-1. On Court 3, Tarleton has two duos at 2-2, Parayno and Mitchell, plus Brown and Mitchell. On Court 4, Huber and Jayda Harris-Amete have the best record at 2-2, and on Court 5, Ching and Fuentes have gone 7-3.
Six pairs have .500 records or better together; Parayno and Schirpik at 3-1 (.750), Ching and Fuentes at 8-4 (.667), Bryant and Halcomb at 6-6 (.500), Parayno and Mitchell at 2-2 (.500), Brown and Mitchell at 2-2 (.500), and Huber and Harris-Amete at 2-2 (.500).
Tarleton State will have nearly three full weeks in-between matches, with its next action not until April 4-5 in Corpus Christi, Texas, at the Islander Classic. There the Texans are slated to face Texas A&M-Kingsville, Sam Houston, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Stephen F. Austin.
