HAMMOND, La. – In the final competition of the fall, the Southeastern Louisiana tennis team won the George E. Fourmaux Fed Cup Invitational, which concluded Monday at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
 
The Lions and West Florida both finished atop the standings with 3-1 records, but Southeastern took the title due to its head-to-head victory and better point differential.
 
Southeastern defeated UWF, Xavier (N.O.) and Lamar during the tournament. Nicholls prevented a perfect sweep for SLU, defeating the hosts Monday morning.
 
"Our team responded great during a tough weekend," Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes said. "We dropped a hard-fought match to Nicholls today, but we're pleased to win the tournament."
 
Hayes is hoping the progress made during the fall carries over when the spring portion of the season opens in late January.
 
"We could see the results of the hard work we put in since our last competition this weekend and that was a huge positive," Hayes commented. "We still have a lot of work to do, but our success this fall should definitely motivate our team heading into the spring."
 
For the fourth straight season, the Lions' fall tournament was played in the memory of Fourmaux. The former SLU volunteer assistant coach passed away in February of 2016.
 
"George was crazy about tennis and was such a tremendous supporter of our program," Hayes said. "George was, above all, a fantastic person and we're fortunate to be able to play this tournament in his honor."
 
Teodora Mitrovic led Southeastern in singles during the final tournament, finishing 3-0. Teammates Putri Insani and Polina Sleptsova each finished with two singles victories apiece for the Lions.
 
In doubles play, Kyra Akinnibi and Katya Cornejo teamed for a 2-0 record. The Lions' top team of Insani and Ximena Yanez also won their lone doubles outing during the tournament.
 
Southeastern opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over UWF on Saturday. Sleptsova, Mitrovic and Yanez all posted straight-set victories in singles play to give SLU a strong start.
 
On Sunday, SLU began the day with a 4-1 victory over Lamar. Flory Bierma, Insani and Mitrovic each won in singles play, while Akinnibi and Cornejo defeated Jayci Wong and Laura Sola Grau, 8-5, in doubles play.
 
Later in the day, Insani, Akinnibi and Sleptsova all cruised to singles victories over Xavier (N.O.).
 
Mitrovic picked up Southeastern's lone singles victory in a 3-2 loss to Nicholls on Monday. Insani and Yanez blanked the Colonel duo of Morgan Forstag and Laura Lopez, 8-0, in doubles action.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will open the spring portion of its 2019-20 schedule on Jan. 25 at Tulane.
 
George E. Fourmaux Fed Cup Invitational – Oct. 26-28, 2019 – Southeastern Tennis Complex (Hammond, La.)
 
                                    W        L         PF       PA
Southeastern La.         3          1          13        7
West Florida               3          1          12        9
New Orleans               2          1          9          6
Nicholls                       2          2          9          11
Xavier                         0          1          1          3
Lamar                          0          4          6          14


Saturday, Oct. 26
 
Southeastern Louisiana 4, West Florida 2
Singles:
Berta Bonardi (UWF) def. Putri Insani (SLU) 6-4, 6-3
Polina Sleptsova (SLU) def. Irene Recuenco (UWF) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
Teodora Mitrovic (SLU) def. Samantha Echerairia (UWF) 6-0, 6-0
Ximena Yanez (SLU) def. Manon Meulenberg (UWF) 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)
Doubles:
Karolina Silwanowicz/Gabriela Araujo (UWF) def. Flory Bierma/Kim Bohlen (SLU) 8-7 (8-4)
Kyra Akinnibi/Katya Cornejo (SLU) def. Lois Bicca/Isabel Fioretti (UWF) 8-0
 
Nicholls 3, Lamar 2
Singles:
Jasmin Buchta (LU) 9-7 def. Simona Maksimovic (NICH) 9-7
Laura Lopez (NICH) def. Bianca Vitale (LU) 8-4
Ling Gu (NICH) def. Denise Simonetti (LU) 8-3
Natalia Garcia Molina (LU) def. Morgan Forshag (NICH) 9-7
Doubles:
Mikaela Konstantinova/Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Jayci Wong/Ana Jolic (LU) 8-4
 
Sunday, Oct. 27
 
West Florida 3, Nicholls 2
Singles:
Berta Bonardi (UWF) def. Laura Lopez (LU) 8-2
Irene Recuenco (UWF) def. Ling Gu (NICH) 8-1
Morgan Forshag (NICH) def. Karina Silwanowicz (UWF) 9-7
Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Gabriela Araujo (UWF) 8-6
Doubles:
Manon Meulenberg/Samantha Echerairia (UWF) def. Simona Maksimovic/Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-2
 
Southeastern Louisiana 4, Lamar 1
Singles:
Putri Insani (SLU) def. Jasmin Buchta (LU) 8-6
Flory Bierma (SLU) def. Bianca Vitale (LU) 8-7 (7-1)
Teodora Mitrovic (SLU) def. Natalia Garcia Molina (LU) 7-4, retired
Ana Jolic (LU) def. Kim Bohlen (SLU) 8-6
 
Doubles:
Kyra Akinnibi/Katya Cornejo (SLU) def. Jayci Wong/Laura Sola (LU) 8-5
 
Southeastern Louisiana 3, Xavier (N.O.) 1
Singles:
Putri Insani (SLU) def. Farah Baklouti (XULA) 8-5
Kyra Akinnibi (SLU) def. Yi Chen Pao (XULA) 8-0
Polina Sleptsova (SLU) def. Lindsey Dixon (XULA) 8-1
Doubles:
Angela Charles-Alfred/Lacee Ancar (XULA) def. Flory Bierma/Teodora Mitrovic (SLU) 8-6
 
New Orleans 4, Nicholls 1
Singles:
Ank Vullings (UNO) def. Simona Maksimovic (NICH) 9-8 (10-8)
Laura Lopez (NICH) def. Lea Alguacil (UNO) 8-5
Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) def. Morgan Forstag (NICH) 8-5
Yurina Asai (UNO) def. Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-0
Doubles:
Mar Gendra/Salima Abdelrahim (UNO) def. Ling Gu/Carla Bouygues (NICH) 9-8 (10-8)
 
New Orleans 3, Lamar 2
Singles:
Ank Vullings (UNO) def. Jasmin Buchta (LU) 8-6
Bianca Vitale (LU) def. Salma Abdelrahim (UNO) 8-5
Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) def. Natalia Garcia Molina (LU) 8-3
Ana Jolic (LU) def. Mar Gendra (UNO) 8-5
Doubles:
Lea Alguacil/Tristanne Dechoux (UNO) def. Jayci Wong/Denise Simonetti (LU) 8-1
 
West Florida 3, New Orleans 2
Singles:
Ank Vullings (UNO) def. Karolina Silwanowicz (UWF) 8-5
Manon Meulenberg (UWF) def. Salma Abdelrahim (UNO) 9-8
Gabriela Araujo (UWF) def. Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) 9-7
Mar Gendra (UNO) def. Samantha Echerairia (UWF) 8-4
Doubles:
Berta Bonardi/Irene Recuenco (UWF) def. Lea Alguacil/Tristanne Dechoux (UNO) 8-5
 
Monday, Oct. 28
West Florida 4, Lamar 1
Singles:
Berta Bonardi (UWF) def. Bianca Vitale (LU) 6-1, 6-0
Irene Recuenco (UWF) def. Ana Jolic (LU) 7-5, 6-2
Manon Meulenberg (UWF) def. Natalia Garcia Molina (LU) 6-4, 6-2
Denise Simonetti (LU) def. Samantha Echerairia (UWF) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles:
Karolina Silwanowicz/Gabriela Araujo (UWF) def. Jayci Wong/Laura Sola Grau (LU)
 
Nicholls 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2
Singles:
Simona Maksimovic (NICH) def. Kyra Akinnibi (SLU) 7-6, ret.
Ling Gu (NICH) def. Flory Bierma (SLU) 8-7 (7-4)
Carla Bouygyes (NICH) def. Polina Sleptsova (SLU) 8-6
Teodora Mitrovic (SLU) def. Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-2
Doubles:
Putri Insani/Ximena Yanez (SLU) def. Morgan Forstag/Laura Lopez (NICH) 8-0
 
40 LOVE CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the tennis program are encouraged to join the 40 Love Club. Lion tennis alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the 40 Love Club and S Club (tennis) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern tennis program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
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