Nicholls Blanks Southeastern Louisiana 4-0 to Reach Semifinals

Nicholls Blanks Southeastern Louisiana 4-0 to Reach Semifinals

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Southland Conference

BRACKET | PHOTO GALLERY | CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE

BEAUMONT, Texas – Top-seeded Nicholls opened up the 2015 Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Tournament with a 4-0 sweep against eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center this afternoon. The Colonels advance to the tournament’s semifinals for the first time since the 1999 season.
 
Nicholls claimed the doubles point after a pair of 8-2 wins at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 doubles. The all-conference duo of Stephanie Barnett and Klara Skopac topped Renee Villarreal and Lucia Bustamante while Isla Brock and Kateryna Nakonechna were winners over Natalie Duran and Madina Vorotnikova. Margaux Kaltenbacher and Dany Raygadas of Southeastern Louisiana were ahead 6-2 at the second spot when the doubles point was clinched by the Colonels.
 
In singles action, Nicholls claimed singles wins at the number No. 3, 5 and 6 positions as Marie Aubert defeated Kaltenbacher 6-1, 6-2 at the third spot and Nakonechna beat Raygades 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5. All-conference singles player Brock clinched the match for the Colonels with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Natalie Duran. Southland Player of the Year Barnett and teammates Skopac and Milou Pietersz had not finished their singles matches when the match was clinched. Barnett was about to begin a third set as Skopac was up 5-2 in the third and Pietersz was tied at 2-2 in the third.
 
The Colonels will now face No. 4 seed McNeese State tomorrow morning in the semifinals of the tournament, match time is slated for 11 a.m. CST from Beaumont. The Cowgirls defeated fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-1 this afternoon.
 
The Southland tournament continues with two more quarterfinal matches this afternoon. Women’s semifinals will take place tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CST and the tournament championship will be played Sunday at 11 a.m. with the winner receiving the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA championship.
 
Admission is free to all matches of the 2015 Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Tournament, for more information regarding results, records and more please visit Southland.org.