Women’s Tennis: March 15 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
McNeese State 4, Lamar 3
Northwestern State 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Central Arkansas 4, New Orleans 3
Stephen F. Austin 4, UTSA 2
Stephen F. Austin 6, UIW 1
Nicholls 6, Sam Houston State 1
McNeese State 4, Lamar 3
BEAUMONT, Texas – The McNeese State women’s tennis team took home its second straight Southland Conference victory on Sunday as the Cowgirls won a hard-fought battle against Lamar in a 4-3 affair in Beaumont at the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
With the victory, McNeese improved to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in conference action. The Cowgirls have now won five matches in a row. The Lady Cardinals fell to 3-8 on the year and 0-4 in league play.
“This was a successful weekend for us,” said head coach Helena Besovic. “We beat two teams that put out everything on the court against us. Lamar came out strong today but we responded well and were able to successfully close the match. I am proud of our effort.
McNeese secured the first point of the match after taking two of three decisions in doubles play. The team of Sarah Jurakova and Vivien Borbely rattled off their fourth straight victory after taking down Hanna Elfving and Stephanie Marchena 8-3 on Court 3. The combo of Julia Kral and Hannah Brett clinched the point after scoring an 8-1 win over the team of Anna Spengler and Andrea Ivanovic.
In singles junior Klaudia Gawlik gave the Cowgirls a 2-0 lead after taking care of business on Court 1 with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Katya Lapayeva. Kral upped the lead to a 3-0 mark after taking down Spengler in the No. 2 spot 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Lamar cut into the lead in the next two results as Ivanovic scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brett in the third position while Borbely fell to Carolina Maso on Court 4 in a 6-2, 6-1 decision.
Freshman Sarah Jurakova was able to secure the conference victory for the Cowgirls as she handled Elfving 6-2, 6-1 on Court 5 and gave McNeese its fourth point of the match.
Senior Andreea Nenu lost to Marchena in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
The Cowgirls will return home over the weekend and will resume conference play with a match against Nicholls on Thursday, March 19 at 2 p.m. followed by a contest with Central Arkansas on Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m.
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Northwestern State 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State’s No. 3 doubles tandem of Aliona Ladutska and Emily Kerr, with the match outcome hanging in the balance Sunday in a battle of the Southland Conference’s last two NCAA Tournament entries, pulled out an 8-5 victory that handed NSU an impressive 4-3 triumph at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Natalya Krutova’s three-set victory in the No. 2 position earned a split of the six singles matches, leaving the overall outcome riding on the doubles point. NSU took the upper hand when Tatiana Larina and Krutova posted an 8-3 win at No. 1, but a nailbiting 8-7 (7-5) loss by Barbora Kollarova and Polina Ivanova in the No. 2 doubles contest left the decisive point hinging on the No. 3 result.
“Emily and Aliona played big under pressure in the last match on,” said first-year Lady Demons’ coach Olga Bazhanova, whose team improved to 3-0 in the Southland and 6-6 overall.
“It’s a huge win for us. It was a dog fight on every court in singles and doubles. A big credit to the Islanders. They made us earn every point. Natalya had a very big win in singles to get it to the doubles point.”
AMCC dipped to 6-6 and 0-2 in conference.
Ivanova opened the scoring with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kerry Galhos in the No. 5 singles, but AMCC tied it with a 6-2, 6-2 No. 6 win by Chelsea Horan over Kateryna Piatkova.
Tatiana Larina lifted NSU up again by closing out her No. 1 singles match 6-2, 6-2 past Judit Vives, but the Islanders rallied to go ahead 3-2 with victories at Nos. 3 and 4. Celicia Rodriguez topped Ladutska 6-4, 6-2 in the third position and Maider Martin edged Kollarova 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 at No. 4.
Then Krutova recovered after a second-set loss for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 triumph at No. 2 over Jelena Dzinic to knot the team score 3-all and set up intense doubles action.
The Lady Demons, who have won four straight, come home for a non-conference match Thursday at 2 against Southeast Missouri, then host Abilene Christian next Sunday at 2 in a Southland contest at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.
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Central Arkansas 4, New Orleans 3
CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas tennis team played their second match in as many days on Sunday, hosting the New Orleans Privateers. The Bears completed the weekend sweep, taking down UNO 4-3.
For the seventh time in eight matches, the Bears (7-1, 2-1 SLC) grabbed an early lead by winning the doubles point. Kelsey Williams and Allison Murphy pushed their winning-streak to eight matches, defeating Anja Luethi and Anna Segarra Rius 8-5 in the no. 2 match, while Kristina Horsikyan and Bianca Strukelj moved to 6-1 on the season with an 8-3 victory over Hafsa Laraibi and Yasmine Rashad. The Privateers (8-6, 2-3 SLC) took the no. 1 doubles match, with Marta Sans and Soledad Calderon defeating Nataly Yoo and Cassidy Crawford 8-3.
“Today was an absolute battle,” said Central Arkansas head coach Casey Wharton. “The start time of the match was delayed because of the rain, so we were sitting around stiff and sore from yesterday’s match, waiting for the courts to dry. And as a result, we struggled to find out timing and our energy, especially in the early part of the match. I knew we would need the double’s point, not only for momentum, but because so many of our players have been physically beat up and tired from yesterday’s match, injuries and illness. Despite the slow start, we were able to get control and clinch the doubles point by winning at three doubles and then our two seniors, Kelsey and Allison, came through to clinch it for us. They stepped up big and put us in front.”
In singles play, the Bears secured the victory, taking three of six matches. In the no. 1 match, Yoo took down Calderon in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, and in the no. 3 match, Horsikyan took down Sans 6-3, 7-5. Allison Murpny scored the win in the no. 4 match, taking down Segarra Ruis 7-6, 6-3. The Privateers, got wins in the no. 2 match, the no. 5 match, and no. 6 match.
“The singles matches were gritty,” said Wharton. “The wind picked up, the sun stayed out, both teams were trying everything to get momentum; it was a battle. Nataly Yoo was brilliant at no. 1 singles, fighting an injury, but she found a way to get it done. And then Allison Murphy stepped up in singles again today; I’m finding out just how solid she really is. But the hero of today was Kristina Horsikyan. She may be quiet, and steadily does her best work even if nobody is watching, but today she did it in front of crowd. We had three points and UNO had three points, so Kristina’s match at three singles was the last one on and the deciding match. And being a conference match and with both teams watching and cheering, it was a big moment. But Kristina did not shy away at all. She went out and executed brilliantly, taking the fight to her opponent and gaining us the fourth point and the win. I’m so proud of our girls and how they battled.”
The Bears will hit the road next weekend, taking on McNeese State on Saturday and Nicholls on Sunday.
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Stephen F. Austin 4, UTSA 2
Stephen F. Austin 6, UIW 1
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin completed the Alamo City sweep Sunday, knocking off cross-town foes Incarnate Word and UT-San Antonio. With the victories, SFA improves to 8-4 on the year and 2-0 in Southland Conference play.
"I just can't say enough how proud I am of the girls for reacting in such a positive way to the challenge, and sure enough, they surprised themselves today," said head coach Roberto Aspillaga. "We went in all beaten up, without our number one player, and beat a very tough UTSA at their home courts."
The Ladyjacks opened up the day with a morning bout with Southland Conference rival Incarnate Word. SFA took two of the three doubles matches, earning the first point of the match for the Ladyjacks, setting up what proved to be a dominating singles performance.
The Ladyjacks took five of the six singles matches, winning them all in straight sets. The lone blemish on the day for SFA was in the No. 1 singles as Malena Gordo was unable to finish the match, retiring after the first three points.
But the performances of the other five Ladyjacks was enough to spark SFA to the 6-1 win over the Cardinals. No. 6 Julia Lorca highlighted the singles portion for SFA, earning a 6-1, 6-0 decision, with both No. 2 Denise Maxl and No. 4 Valeria Terentyeva notching 6-1, 6-2 victories.
"Having beat the conference champ yesterday in such a convincing way with half a team under the weather was an incredible achievement by itself," Aspillaga said. "We came in late to San Antonio and the girls were quite beaten up. It was not difficult to find motivation to beat Incarnate Word, since we know now that we are in the driver seat to get a conference title."
The Ladyjacks then traveled across town to UT-San Antonio for a non-conference bout against the Roadrunners. SFA downed UTSA 4-2, led off by the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles recording wins to guide the Ladyjacks to the early point.
Despite winning the doubles point, SFA had a hard time shaking the Roadrunners, building a narrow 3-2 lead following losses from No. 1 Denise Maxl (6-2, 6-1) and No. 5 Macarena Sedano Acosta (6-2, 6-3) and victories from No. 6 Julia Lorca (6-2, 6-1) and No. 2 Dhanielly Quevedo (7-5, 6-4). But No. 3 Vivienne Kulicke notched the 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win to seal the match for the Ladyjacks, leaving No. 4 Valeria Terentyeva's match unfinished tied 5-5 in the second.
"The challenge was to get over all the sickness and fatigue and beat a good UTSA the very same day," Aspillaga said. "We told the girls this was an incredible opportunity, since we are going to have to do this again if we want to win it all this year. If we can find the strength to overcome this last obstacle this weekend, we could always look back at this point of the season for strength and confidence."
SFA now sweeps its three-game weekend road trip but will remain on the road for one more match. The Ladyjacks head to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a battle with the Bearcats on Wednesday, March 18, getting underway at 1 p.m.
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Nicholls 6, Sam Houston State 1
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – For the second time in as many days, the Nicholls State University women’s tennis team picked up a convincing 6-1 victory in Southland Conference play as the Colonels defeated Sam Houston State on Sunday at the McAdams Tennis Center.
The win keeps Nicholls undefeated in conference at 3-0 and improves their overall record to 7-2. Sam Houston remains winless on the season at 0-10 and 0-4.
The Colonels dominated the Bearkats throughout the lineup, winning each doubles match by at least six points and every singles win came in straight sets. For doubles, Stephanie Barnett and Klara Skopac won 8-1 on the No. 1 court, Isla Brock and Kateryna Nakonechna took No. 2 with an 8-2 win and Marie Aubert/ Milou Pietersz completed the swept at No. 3 with an 8-1 triumph.
In singles, the Colonel took courts 1 through 5, with only one match needing extra points. Barnett won 6-3, 6-0 against Olivia Battye at the top spot, Skopac took both of her sets, 6-1, against Fabienne Gettwart at No. 2 and Aubert notched her 50th career win with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3 against Mila Milanovic.
On the No. 4 court, Pietersz won 6-2 over Bailey VanDyke in the first set before clinching the match with a shutout in the second. Brock rounded out the winners for Nicholls with a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) win at No. 5. Maddie Mortimore prevented the shutout for Sam Houston with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Nakonechna.
The Colonels will step out of conference for a home doubleheader on Tuesday, March 17, at the Colonel Tennis Complex. Nicholls will take on Xavier (La.) at 10 a.m. before hosting Southeast Missouri State at 2 p.m.
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