4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - A showdown of epic proportions is about to occur on UT Arlington's campus.
OK, so it might not be an epic clash of two titans of the sport, but it's about as close the women's tennis team has to a clash of the titans.
UTA's women's tennis team faces off against Northwestern State Saturday at the UTA Tennis Center at 11 a.m. Both squads are perfect in conference, with the Mavericks 9-0 and the Lady Demons 9-0.
Maverick's coach Diego Benitez led the team to a Southland regular season and tournament championship last year. Benitez has his team's eyes on the same prize this season, with Northwestern State an imposing obstacle.
"Northwestern has some talented players," Benitez said. "It's going to come down to the last match."
The Mavericks have relied on sophomore Maria Martinez-Romero the most. After posting the best win percentage in the Southland conference last year with a 21-2 record, Martinez is off a similar start.
She's currently 10-2 overall including the 9-0 in conference. Benitez said while Martinez is a leader on the team, she isn't the only one that's counted on.
"Martinez definitely helps lead," Benitez said. "But everyone needs to work."
Having the past success of last year has helped in the team's confidence this year, Benitez said. But that doesn't make it any easier to coach.
"You have to keep on them," Benitez said. "You don't want them to be complacent with previous seasons."
Even though it's the biggest match of the year, it's not the last, which makes it that much more important Benitez said.
"If we play well this match we can keep the momentum going," he said. "This can propel us to the conference tournament, which is the ultimate goal."
