Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas – The Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana tennis team opened the Southland Conference Tournament with a 4-2 victory over Central Arkansas in a first round match Friday afternoon the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center.
 
The Lions (22-2) opened the match by taking the doubles point, then clinched the match. after singles victories by freshman Renee Villarreal, senior Isabel Brito and freshman Nastya Tokareva. Southeastern will face No. 4 seed Northwestern State in Saturday's semifinals at 2 p.m. The Lady Demons defeated Stephen F. Austin, 4-1, on Friday.
 
Southeastern won a very competitive doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. At No. 1, the Lion tandem of Villarreal and sophomore Adriana Castillo improved to 17-3 as a team with an 8-5 victory over UCA's Simona Horsikyan and Allison Murphy. The 17 doubles wins are tied for the second-most in school history.
 
UCA evened doubles play with a win at No. 2, but Tokareva and sophomore Morgane Charpenne clinched the doubles point for the Lions on the No. 3 court. Teaming for just the second time this spring, the Southeastern tandem rallied from a 7-4 deficit to defeat Kristina Horsikyan and Anna Buyukyan to give Southeastern a 1-0 lead.
 
Villarreal (22-0) remained undefeated on the way to giving the Lions a 2-0 lead. The first team All-Southland selection cruised past Kristina Horsikyan and her 22 singles victories are tied for the second-highest single season singles victory total in school history.
 
UCA evened the match with singles wins on the No. 1 and 5 courts. However, Brito and Tokareva closed it out for Southeastern. Brito (16-2) was too much for Buyukyan at No. 6 in a 6-1, 6-2 triumph. Tokareva (15-7) clinched the match on the No. 2 court, moving past Murphy, 6-3, 6-3.
 
Southeastern and Northwestern State will have a rematch from a thriller on April 6 in Natchitoches. The Lions outlasted the Demons, 4-3, in that meeting.
 
2013 Southland Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
April 26-28, Beaumont, Texas, Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center
 
Friday, April 26 – First Round
Match 1 – No. 6 Sam Houston State 4, No. 3 Lamar 3
Match 2 – No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, No. 7 McNeese State 0
Match 3 – No. 1 Southeastern Louisiana 4, No. 8 Central Arkansas 2
Match 4 – No. 4 Northwestern State, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin
 
Saturday, April 27 – Semifinals
Match 5 – Sam Houston State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 11 a.m.
Match 6 – Southeastern Louisiana vs. Central Arkansas – 2 p.m.
 
Sunday, April 28 – Finals
Championship – Semifinal Winners – 2 p.m.