HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana women's tennis team kept their postseason hopes alive with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Stephen F. Austin in Southland Conference women's tennis action Sunday afternoon at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
 
SLU (7-11, 4-6 Southland) bounced back after dropping the doubles point to take four singles matches and earn the crucial victory. Stephen F. Austin closes its season with a 7-13 overall record and a 3-8 mark in league play.
 
With the victory, Southeastern remained in Southland Conference Tournament contention. The Lions will need a win in Tuesday's 4 p.m. regular season finale versus New Orleans at the Southeastern Tennis Complex to return to the postseason.
 
"We came out timid and just got flat-out beat by SFA in doubles," Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes said. "I told our team that having talent is not enough, you have to play with heart and that no matter the result, I wanted them to play with heart in singles. They heard the message and exceeded my expectations."
 
Sunday was Senior Day for the Lions, as SLU senior Ceci Mercier received her S Club plaque prior to the match.
 
"I tried to keep focused on the match and not get emotional," Mercier said. "We knew we had to have this match, so that was what was important."
 
In doubles play, the SLU No. 1 duo of Putri Insani and Ximena Yanez (7-4, 5-2 Southland) defeated the Ladyjack pair of Gabi Guillarte and Kaja Ljubic, 6-3. However, SFA countered with 6-3 wins of its own on courts 2 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Mercier (7-5, 4-4 Southland) quickly tied the match up in singles play, blitzing Ljubic, 6-0, 6-0, on the No. 4 court. The Montevideo, Uruguay native was pleased to help her team after being honored for Senior Day.
 
"I know these are the final chances for me to be able to do what I love to do," Mercier commented. "I was familiar with my opponent after playing her last season, so I just did what I know how to do and played my best."
 
After SFA retook the lead with a straight-set win on No. 2, Yanez (3-4, 2-4 Southland) made a triumphant return to the singles court after sitting out singles play in recent weeks due to an injury. She tied the match with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Armelle Cerdan on No. 3.
 
Over on No. 1, Insani (10-5, 7-3 Southland) took the first set and was comfortably ahead, 4-1, in the second set over Guilarte. If Insani was expecting an easy win, Guilarte had other ideas, winning five straight games to force a third set.
 
Guilarte kept the momentum in her favor at the start of the third set, taking a 4-0 lead. Insani broke her foe to cut the lead to 4-1 heading into a change over and retook the momentum. The SLU freshman would never look back, rallying for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory to give the Lions a 3-2 lead.
 
On No. 5, SFA tied it up, as Nida Kamal outlasted Flory Bierma, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 to leave the outcome to be settled on No. 6, where Southeastern's Katya Cornejo was in a three-set battle with Kyndall Misak.
 
"I wanted it so badly, because I knew how hard my teammates had been fighting," Cornejo said. "We had to bounce back after losing doubles and we knew whoever had the most fight and wanted it the most was going to win."
 
With all eyes on her, Cornejo closed out the comeback, clinching the win for SLU with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
 
"It's tough to have that pressure, but the pressure helped me to focus," Cornejo said. "I was nervous at first, but I was able to just breathe and concentrate on every ball."
 
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.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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