MONROE, La. – Southeastern Louisiana juniors Dalina Dahlmans and Fleur Holtkamp won the top doubles flight as the Lion tennis team opened fall play at the ULM Warhawk Classic Tournament this weekend on the campus of Louisiana-Monroe.
 
Teaming for the first time, Dahlmans and Holtkamp opened the tournament with a 6-4 victory over the ULM team of Madalina Grigoriu and Karolina Snita. The Lion duo advanced to the finals by defeating the Tulane duo of Naz Karagoz and Sade Atkinson, 6-4.
 
In the finals, Southeastern's new No. 1 pair claimed the tournament with a hard-fought 7-5 victory over Louisiana Tech's Jasmin Britos and Marta Sramakova. SLU's doubles victory was the highlight of a successful opening weekend for the Lions, according to head coach Jason Hayes.
 
"I was extremely pleased with our performance both on and off the court this weekend," Hayes said. "I wanted to see us do the things we've been working on in practice and we did just that. And as the weekend progressed, you could see those things allow us to be more and more successful.
 
"We came home a closer group than we were when we left," Hayes added. "Our team genuinely bonded this weekend and that camaraderie will be huge for us as we work towards our goals this spring."
 
Dahlmans and Holtkamp weren't the only Southeastern doubles pairing to have success in the fall opener. In Flight C, juniors Natalie Duran and Lucia Bustamante won the consolation bracket.
 
In singles play, Holtkamp, Duran, Bustamante, as well as juniors Madina Vorotnikova and Ceci Mercier all picked up victories. Duran and Bustamante each won the consolation brackets in their respective singles flights.
 
The weekend trip to Monroe marked the first of four fall tournaments for Southeastern. The Lions will be back in action on Sept. 30, when they compete at the Ragin' Cajun Classic in Lafayette.