NEW ORLEANS, La. – Southeastern Louisiana junior Renee Villarreal and freshman Anna Bryukhova won their respective singles flights, as the Lion tennis team closed out their fall schedule with a strong showing at the Big Easy Tennis Classic which wrapped up Saturday at UNO.
 
Villarreal, who won the top singles flight, won her second tournament of the fall. The two-time All-Southland Conference performer from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico won the Lady Demon Fall Classic top singles flight earlier this month.
 
In addition to the play of Villarreal and Bryukhova, the Lion weekend effort was highlighted by the play of sophomore Avika Sagwal, who advanced to the semifinals of the No. 3 singles flight. Freshman Lucia Bustamante won the consolation bracket of the No. 3 flight.
 
In doubles play, two Lady Lion teams advanced to the semifinals of the bracket. The pairings of Villarreal and Bryukhova, as well as Bustamante and freshman Dany Raygadas were one win away from the double finals.
 
"We had a good effort last weekend in Pensacola, but I really challenged our girls to play their best and I was very pleased with the results," Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes said. "Renee and Anna had great singles performances, but every Lion played hard this weekend.
 
"More importantly, we got better as a team this weekend," Hayes added. "I was very happy with the effort and support. This weekend will give us a lot of confidence heading into the spring."
 
Villarreal opened tournament play with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kaja Mrgole of West Virginia. In the semifinals, UNO's Ania Luethi was no match for Villarreal in a 6-1, 6-2 loss. Villarreal rallied in the finals to defeat West Virginia's Lyu Yuen Choo, 2-6, 6-4, 10-4.
 
Bryukhova, a Moscow, Russia native, was dominant in the No. 2 singles bracket. She picked up straight set victories over Jackson State's Daria Butorina (7-5, 6-2), Anna Segorra of UNO (6-4, 6-2) and Abby Johnson of Louisiana-Lafayette (6-4, 6-2) to take the singles bracket.
 
After suffering an opening round loss, Bustamante was similarly dominant in the Flight 3 consolation bracket. The Guayaquil, Ecuador product picked up three straight singles victories to finish the fall on a high note.
 
Southeastern will open the spring portion of its 2015 schedule on Feb. 5, when it travels to Alcorn State for a 2 p.m. match.