Women’s Tennis: April 10 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Stephen F. Austin 4, McNeese State 2
Nicholls 4, Northwestern State 0
New Orleans 4, Alcorn State 1
Abilene Christian 6, Dallas Baptist 1
No. 70 SMU 6, Abilene Christian 1
Stephen F. Austin 4, McNeese State 2
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin took four of the five completed singles bouts to remain perfect in Southland Conference play, defeating McNeese State 4-2 at the Schlief Tennis Complex. The Ladyjacks improve to 13-5 on the year and 7-0 in SLC play.
"The girls want a championship badly," said head coach Roberto Aspillaga. "That level of expectation comes with caring and nerves. We didn't play the doubles well because of it, but the girls did a great job regrouping and going back to focusing on what they can control. Overall, I'm a very proud coach. The girls are coming together and are fighting and playing with a lot of heart. That is what college sports is all about."
SFA fell behind early as McNeese State swept the doubles competition, earning the 8-5 victory at the No. 1 spot and the 8-6 victory at the No. 3 position, leaving the No. 2 match unfinished as the Cowgirls picked up the early point.
But the Ladyjacks responded in singles play, beginning with a 6-1, 6-0 victory by No. 3 Vivienne Kulicke, followed by a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win by Julia Lorca in the No. 6 position after McNeese claimed the win at the No. 2 spot.
No. 4 Dhanilelly Quevedo added another win for the Ladyjacks with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) decision, and then senior Malena Gordo clinched the match for SFA with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision at the No. 1 spot.
It came on the heels of recognizing both Gordo and Lorca for their contributions to SFA tennis on Senior Day as the duo showed why they have been key members of the program for the past four years.
"I am extremely happy for Malena and Julia," Aspillaga said. "Senior Day can be an emotional day and often it is not easy to bring your `A' game. They managed to use the emotion in a positive way and win two key victories for us today."
SFA gets set to play its home finale Saturday morning in what is arguably the biggest match of the SLC season. The Ladyjacks host second-place Nicholls at 11 a.m. at the Schlief Tennis Complex as the Colonels are right on the heels of the Ladyjacks, sitting in second place in the conference standings at 8-1 in SLC play and 11-4 overall.
Weather could be a factor in the game as possible heavy rains are forecasted for the Nacogdoches area through the weekend. Should rain prevent the match from being played outdoors, the two teams will head to the indoor facility in Ennis and play later in the afternoon.
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Nicholls 4, Northwestern State 0
NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Nicholls State University women’s tennis team took one step closer to earning its first Southland Conference championship in 20 years as the Colonels shutout Northwestern State, 4-0, on Friday afternoon at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex to move into sole possession of second place in the standings.
The win by Nicholls (16-4, 8-1 SLC) sets up a huge Saturday matchup at Stephen F. Austin, which defeated McNeese State, 4-2, on Friday to stay in first place in the Southland at 7-0. A win would put the Colonels in a tie for first place with only one match remaining on the regular season schedule for Nicholls.
Against Northwestern State (10-8, 6-2), the doubles point turned out to be a battle as the teams split the first two completed matches. Kateryna Nakonechna and Isla Brock started things off with an 8-3 win over Aliona Ladutska / Emily Kerr at No. 3, but NSU evened it up as Stephanie Barnett and Klara Skopac fell 8-4 at No. 1 to Tatiana Larina / Natalya Krutova.
In the decisive No. 2 match, Marie Aubert and Milou Pietersz found themselves tied at 4-4 with Polina Ivanova / Kateryna Piatakova, but the Colonels would win the final four points to clinch the point with an 8-4 victory. In nine conference matches this season, the Colonels have come away with the doubles point eight times.
The momentum carried over to the singles court as Aubert cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3 over Ladutska. On the No. 1 court, Barnett disposed of Lariana in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, before Brock closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Piatakova at No. 6. In the three unfinished matches, the Colonels won all three of the first sets and led in the second.
With the victories in singles action, Aubert upped her record in conference play to 8-1, while Barnett and Brock remained undefeated at 9-0.
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New Orleans 4, Alcorn State 1
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers women's tennis team (12-9) played with only five players in singles but still finished off the weekend with a 4-1 victory over the Alcorn State Braves (9-6) on Friday afternoon at the University Tennis Center.
The Privateers easily won two doubles matches to take the first point. Anna Segarra Rius and Anja Luethi cruised to an 8-1 win at the 2 spot. Yasmine Rashad and Hafsa Laraibi combined to win every game in an 8-0 win at the 3 position to set the Privateers up for singles play.
Rashad continued her strong weekend by dusting off Patricia Normand 6-1, 6-1 while playing at the 4 spot. Laraibi polished off her 15th win of the year by topping Ekaterina Potapova at 6-1, 6-3. The win for Laraibi was her fifth straight.
Also providing a singles victory to help clinch the match was Luethi who won 6-2, 6-2. Luethi has won six of her last eight singles decisions. The Braves got their only point after the Privateers had to forfeit a match due to not having enough available players for singles.
New Orleans will finish out their home slate with a match against Southeastern on Tuesday, Apr. 14. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
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Abilene Christian 6, Dallas Baptist 1
No. 70 SMU 6, Abilene Christian 1
ABILENE, Texas – The Abilene Christian women's tennis team won its match vs. Dallas Baptist, 6-1, and later lost its dual by the same score at No. 70 SMU during a quick one-day trip to Metroplex Friday.
Head coach Hutton Jones switched around his lineup for the neutral-site match vs. the Patriots at the T Bar M Raquet Club and received victories at every position except No. 1 singles where Natalie Gennissen held off senior Brittney Reed in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Everyone else, however, was a winner on the singles court despite some of them moving up two spots in the order. Regular starters Erin Walker, Lucile Pothier and Whitney Williams all won their matches in straight sets from the No. 2 to 4 positions, while at No. 5, freshman Carli Knezevich rallied from a set down to beat Liz Slaughter, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
At No. 6 and playing in just her fifth dual of the spring, sophomore Ansley Boarman rolled Courtney McWilliams, 6-3, 6-4.
Jones also utilized three new doubles combinations vs. DBU but received the results he's accustomed to as the Wildcats swept all three positions by scores of 8-1, 8-2 and 8-3. ACU now has a 39-17 combined record on the doubles court.
Unfortunately, ACU's success vs. the Patriots did not carry over into its match at the SMU Tennis Complex.
The Mustangs improved to 15-6 by winning 2-of-3 doubles and 5-of-6 singles with the lone Wildcats' triumph earned at No. 6, where junior Nada Marjanovic defeated Holly Verner, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Walker came close to pushing her individual win streak to five, but was turned away at No. 2 by Anna Kate Anderson, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).
In doubles the No. 1 team of Reed and junior Kaysie Hermsdorf (13-2) lost for only the second time all spring as they were doubled up, 6-3, by the team of Hristina Dishkova and Verner.
The Wildcats continue their busy weekend Saturday with a 10:44 a.m. home match at the Eager Tennis Pavilion vs. Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State.
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