While TMU head coach Annett Davis said that the goal going into Friday's match against Arizona Christian University was to win, she admitted that there were unknowns
"It's tough being a first-year program because we haven't really gotten a chance to see the other teams play very much," Davis said. "So we go in almost blind and have to adapt and make adjustments on the fly."
The Mustangs certainly did adapt, defeating both ACU and Benedictine Mesa in a pair of 3-2 matches in Glendale, Arizona, to earn the program's first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference victories.
The wins place the Mustangs at 2-2 in the conference and 5-4 overall, propelling the program to fourth place in the overall GSAC standings.
"It feels great to have won our first conference matches," Davis said. "The girls have been working very hard and definitely earned it today."
Juniors Katie Emnerling and
Desi Elizondo opened the first match of the day with back-to-back 21-14 wins against their Arizona Christian opponents. Elsewhere, ACU came back with two hard-fought victories to give it an overall 2-1 lead.
However, the pairings of
Kylie Brown and
Ketty Totemeier,, and
Kasie Spencer and
Rebecca Swenning earned close victories of their own, with each duo winning in their respective third rounds 19-17 to clinch TMU's first conference victory in history.
"We try not to use being a first-year program as an excuse," Davis said. "We have teams that should win and we expect to."
Spencer and Swenning opened the Mustangs' second match with a pair of decisive wins over Benedictine pairing of Destiny Ramirez and Kassandra Renteria. Emmerling and Elizondo secured a strong victory in their own match, and freshman
Caihannah-Jane Catabona teamed with sophomore Emilye Grace Williams to secure the Mustangs' second victory Friday.
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The women of TMU next head to Bakersfield on March 14 to take on CSU Bakersfield and Concordia University Irvine in a pair of non-conference match-ups.
