HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's tennis team picked up its first Southland Conference victory of the spring, defeating UIW, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
Playing at as close to full strength as it has all spring, SLU (2-13, 1-3 SLC) took the doubles point and split the six singles matches to earn the win. The victory over UIW (7-9, 1-3 SLC) snapped a seven-match losing skid for the Lions.
"We've been so beaten up and playing people out of position all season," Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes said. "To have everyone back and win today gives us hope for the remainder of the season. We're far from 100 percent, but we're getting closer at the right time. This was a good win for us that we can build on moving forward."
Southeastern took the early 1-0 lead with wins on the top two doubles court. The Lion tandem of
Putri Insani and
Flory Bierma (7-2, 2-0 SLC) won its sixth straight match on the court 1, handing Gargi Pawar and Kinga Psut a 6-3 loss. On No. 2,
Sonya Kanarskaya and
Polina Paunova clinched the point with a 6-3 win over UIW's Sofia Salcedo and Taylor Parkinson.
SLU took a 2-0 lead thanks to freshman
Kate Oborina, who was playing in just her second match of the spring after battling an injury the majority of her debut season. Oborina was too much for Parkinson in a 6-0, 6-1 win on No. 5.
UIW answered back with straight-set victories on courts 2, 3 and 6 to take a 3-2 lead. Insani (5-3, 3-1 SLC) evened the score with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Salcedo on the top singles court.
The match was settled on No. 4. Bierma earned her first singles victory of the spring, besting Kinga Psut, 7-6, 6-2, to give Southeastern the victory.
The Lions will close out its three-match home stand with a 4 p.m. match versus Southern Wednesday at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
40 LOVE CLUB
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
For more information on Southeastern Tennis, follow @LionUpTennis on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
