Freshman Paula Garcia Acebal hopes to help Beavers make NSIC tournament after historic start

Mar. 21—BEMIDJI — Paula Garcia Acebal’s return to the tennis court was a frustrating one.

It’s not that she had a bad day — far from it. With partner Lauren Rutten, she won her No. 2 doubles match, 6-2, and her No. 2 singles match, 6-4, 7-5, against Minnesota Crookston Friday night.

Teammate Valesca Rodriguez gave her credit for her good day, but Garcia Acebal wasn’t focused on that. She left the Gillett Wellness Center upset that the Bemidji State women’s tennis team lost 6-1 to the Golden Eagles in its first match in 20 days.

“She has the tools to beat just about anybody … but she wants the team to win,” said head coach Kyle Fodness. “I mean, she’s following the team, watching the matches. And for a player who’s not the largest in stature, ever, she brings a lot of fight. I mean, she’s one of those players who brings it.”

Garcia Acebal, a freshman, is one of the most competitive players on the team. It’s contagious, too, helping improve those around her.

“And that’s good because sometimes really competitive, really passionate players don’t do that,” Fodness said. “Sometimes it’s very self-centered. She’s the exact opposite. She’s so generous with her time, her compliments, her encouragement and all that stuff. The only player she gets really mad at is herself sometimes, and wanting to get better. But that’s rarely the case.”

Garcia Acebal helped the Beavers jump out to a historic

6-0 start to the season

. By the end of the first half of the season, BSU sat at 8-3.

Her 7-4 singles record is the best on the team, aided by her feisty way of playing.

But it’s

her doubles record

that really stands out. She and Rutten are 7-2 together, including a win Friday night. Their ultra-competitive win-now mentalities mesh really well together, leading to victories.

“I’m so happy playing with her,” Garcia Acebal said. “She has a lot of good motivation. She never has a bad day or something; she tries to do her best. And I think that we have the same mentality — win-win-win-win. We don’t know another word.”

It isn’t just Rutten — Garcia Acebal feels close to the entire team. They hang out outside of tennis. They’re supportive of each other during matches, and that’s led to wins early on in the season.

“I know when Paula is having a bad day, she knows when I am having a bad day,” Rodriguez said. “It’s just a feeling that you don’t have with a lot of people. And we are lucky to have it in our team, and mostly all of us.”

Practices can be a whole different dynamic, however. The Beavers can give some tough love to each other, and they aren’t afraid to mince words. Nobody takes anything personally, though — they all know it’s in the name of getting better.

BSU had been doing just that before the break. After the loss to the Golden Eagles, the Beavers fell to 8-4. It’s the second-best overall record in the NSIC, but they sit in seventh in the standings thanks to their 2-3 conference record.

With five matches remaining, all in-conference, Bemidji State’s focus now is to finish sixth or better in the NSIC to make the conference tournament at the end of the season. Despite the setback against Minnesota Crookston, the Beavers feel like they’re improving day by day.

The key to the rest of the season, according to Rodriguez, will be to embrace their struggles without forgetting what they did wrong and continue improving. As far as they’re concerned, the Beavers feel like their best tennis is ahead of them.

“We are going to make the tournament,” Rodriguez said emphatically. “It’s going to take effort. It’s going to take time, energy, motivation. But I know we are ready to show all that and give more than what we need.”

Minnesota Crookston 6, Bemidji State 1

Singles:

No. 1: de Lucas Rivera (UMC) def. Leshem 6-0, 6-4

No. 2: Garcia Acebal (BSU) def. Oktay 6-4, 7-5

No. 3: Cases Mundet (UMC) def. Davies 6-0, 6-3

No. 4: Drasilova (UMC) def. Rodriguez 6-1, 6-0

No. 5: Solis Guals (UMC) def. Rutten 6-3, 6-3

No. 6: Singh (UMC) def. Ibáñez Castro

Doubles:

No. 1: de Lucas Rivera/Drasilova (UMC) def. Davies/Leshem 6-2

No. 2: Garcia Acebal/Rutten (BSU) def. Oktay/Solis Guals 6-2

No. 3: Singh/Cases Mundet (UMC) def. Ibáñez Castro/Rodriguez 6-3