Southeastern Louisiana 5, Lamar 2 - Final ResultsBEAUMONT, Texas – In a four-hour plus match that featured four three-set singles matches, the Southeastern Louisiana women's tennis team picked up a 5-2 Southland Conference road victory over Lamar Sunday afternoon at the Thompson Family Tennis Center.
Southeastern (5-3, 2-0 Southland) won four of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches to remain unbeaten in league play. Lamar fell to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in Southland action with the loss.
Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes was impressed with his team's effort in winning its second straight four-hour Southland road match in as many days. On Saturday, SLU handled Sam Houston State, 4-3, in Huntsville, Texas.
"This weekend's results were the definition of a total team effort," Hayes said. "All six singles starters won at least one match and for us to be able to win consecutive four-hour matches shows the importance of our commitment to fitness.
"Lamar is a great team and we had to play at a high level to win today," Hayes added. "To put together that kind of performance on the road in front of their fans is something we can build on as the season continues."
The Lions took the doubles point with a pair of wins to start the match. On the No. 1 court, senior
Renee Villarreal and sophomore
Dalina Dahlmans (5-1, 2-0 Southland) defeated the Cardinal pairing of sophomore Andrea Ivanovic and junior Anna Spengler, 6-2.
Southeastern took a 1-0 lead by clinching the doubles point on court 3. The SLU pair of junior
Margaux Kaltenbacher and sophomore
Dany Raygadas (5-3, 1-1 Southland) earned a 6-4 victory over LU sophomore Stephanie Marchena and junior Talissa Merchiers.
SLU took a 2-0 lead with a win on the top singles court. Villarreal (4-2, 2-0 Southland) handled junior Katya Lapayeva, 7-5, 6-4. The singles victory was the 59
th of the three-time first team All-Southland performer's career, giving her sole possession of eighth place on the school's career list for singles victories.
Lamar rallied to tie the match with wins on courts 2 and 4. Raygadas (5-3, 1-1 Southland) – the Lions' leader in 2016 singles victories - moved past Spengler, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, on No. 3.
Southeastern closed out the grueling victory with three-set triumphs on the bottom two courts. On No. 5, sophomore
Ceci Mercier (3-5, 1-1 Southland) rallied past Marchena, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, to clinch the win for the Lions. Sophomore
Madina Vorotnikova (2-3, 1-1 Southland) put the finishing touch on the victory with a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 victory over Lamar freshman Luciana Di Laura on No. 6.
"Ceci and Madina have struggled so far this spring," Hayes said. "To their credit, they've never given up on themselves. Their teammates and I believe in them and they validated that by stepping up when we needed them most."
Southeastern will close out its five-match road swing on Thursday at 1 p.m. when it travels to Southern for a non-conference match in Baton Rouge.
