THE LEAD
The #3 Lady Patriots Tennis team in South Central Region took down the #5 Tarleton State in the region Tuesday afternoon in Stephenville, Texas. DBU continues to show their resilience and impessive ability as the team approaches the Heartland Conference Tournament tomorrow and Saturday.
 
#1 Ana Marija Banic epitomizes the Lady Patriots grit with a match victory where she came behind from 1-5 to take the final set 7-5. #4 Skylar McDonald also shined with a strong singles match where she only allowed one-point.  
 
#1 Banic and her doubles partner, Mikayla Rinker stole DBU's lone doubles victory with a 8-4 set to start the day.
 
RESULTS
DBU 5, TSU 3
 
SINGLES
1. Ana Marija Banic (DBU) def. Johnston (TSU) 6-3, 7-5
2. Preadea (TSU) DNF Lacey Sprinkel (DBU) 6-7 (5-7), 3-6
3. Mikayla Rinker (DBU) def. Barbaroux (TSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Skylar McDonald (DBU) def. Elward (TSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Liz Slaughter (DBU) def. Adas (TSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
6. Simmons (TSU) def. Bianca Tijerina (DBU) 6-0, 6-3
 
DOUBLES
1. Ana Marija Banic/Mikayla Rinker (DBU) def. Preadea/Adas (TSU) 8-4
2. Johnston/Elward (TSU) def. Skylar McDonald /Lacey Sprinkel (DBU) 8-2
3. Barbaroux/Simmons (TSU) def. Bianca Tijerina/Liz Slaughter (DBU) 8-5
 
COACH SARAH GRAY'S THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH
"Our ladies came out wanting to compete and hungry for a battle. After going down 2-1 in doubles and most of the matches being very close, the tone of the match was very tight. We found ourselves down 3-1 when freshman Skylar McDonald stepped up in a big way and took out a seasoned and solid player at line 4.  Then our other freshman Mikayla Rinker closed out her match in two sets at line 3. Senior Ana Banic shut out line 1 (after being down 5-1 in the second set to come back and win it 7-5) for us to be up 4-3 and just need one more court. Both Lacey Sprinkel and Liz Slaughter were still battling on court, Lacey up a set and Liz up a set and 4-3.  Liz clinched with playing some of the best tennis she has played all season and we stopped the match once we clinched. Leah and I are thrilled not only with this result but with the competitive spirit and fight that everyone on our team members exhibited.  They showed a ton of grit and this is possibly the best win of the season for us based on the level of their line up."

On freshmen contribution:
"It's no secret that our freshmen ladies are game changers to our season. To have an incredibly solid line 3 and line 4 who we rely to get the job done is a great thing for our team. Just thinking about where they will be in another two to three years is very exciting. Mikayla played line 1 doubles today for the first time and nailed it. These girls are spirited and have fully embraced what college tennis and more specifically what DBU tennis is all about."

Looking forward to this weekend:
"Hosting the Heartland Conference tournament in Dallas at SMU is one of the highlights of the season. We get another shot at St. Edward's after a 5-4 loss earlier this season and our team is pumped to compete. If we play to our potential and play for the love of the battle, there is little stopping us from having a memorable tournament."
 
UP NEXT
As mentioned, the Lady Patriots will be competing in the Heartland Conference Tournament tomorrow, April 21, and Saturday, April 22.