In the final match of Friday’s Lone Star Conference battle between the Javelinas of TAMUK and Tarleton State, junior Victoria Romanovskaia won the final four games to secure an individual victory over Tarleton’s Faustine Palatte and a team victory for the Javelinas.
“It was a hard match, and I knew it was a really important match,” Romanovskaia said. “It was a great win for our team.”
Romanovskaia and Palatte split the first two sets of the match.
In the final set, Romanovskaia fell behind early, 3-0.
The junior then won the next two games, closing Palatte’s lead to one.
But the Tarleton player would win two out of the next three games, putting Romanovskaia behind 5-3.
The two-point deficit mattered not to Romanovskaia, who rolled through the next four games, winning 7-5.
“Victoria is a high desire player. I’ve seen her lose, but I’ve never seen her give up,” said head coach Autumn Williams. “I don’t lose faith because I know she’s going to give her all on every ball. It was nerve-wracking, but I never lost confidence or the belief that she would come through with the victory,” she continued.
Romanovskaia’s victory was the last of five Javelina victories on Friday.
Junior Valerie Ruiz handedly defeated Nathalie Ulander, 6-2 and 6-3.
Junior Julia Rauer up-ended Shelby Fillingame in similar fashion, 6-2 and 6-2.
The Javelinas also came away with two doubles competition wins.
Redshirt senior Lisa Caravajal and freshman Maya Donkor teamed up, took on, and took down Alicia Barbaroux and Neetika Sud, 6-3.
Romanovskaia paired up with senior Thep Philavong to defeat Fillingame and Ulander, 6-3.
“It’s an individual sport, but we take to heart that we are a team. It takes everyone’s energies to win,” Coach Williams said. “That’s what makes this team so special. They understand that every little bit of energy counts, and that’s huge.”
Friday’s victory improved the team’s record to 8-4 (2-0 LSC).
“I have a lot of confidence in this team, so it is no surprise or relief. We have been waiting for this moment for a while so to have things come together right now is excellent,” Williams said. “It is a great feeling. This is great for the girls as far as instilling more confidence in them.”
Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings come out weekly, so the Javelinas will step into their next matchup with a much higher national ranking.
“I don’t care about rankings. I care about every win we get for our university,” Romanovskaia said. “Today was a great experience and great preparation for next week which is going to be even tougher.”
The Javelinas hope to continue their five-game win streak on Saturday, April 6, when they face off with Lone Star Conference foe Angelo State at the Javelina Tennis Courts in Kingsville.
