HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's tennis team wrapped up its 2022-23 home schedule on a high note, earning a 4-3 Southland Conference victory over Nicholls Wednesday afternoon at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
Southeastern (10-8, 3-3 SLC) bounced back from losing the doubles point to win singles matches on the top four courts to clinch the victory. Nicholls fell to 9-14 overall and 1-6 in league action.
"Anytime you can come back to win in the Southland after dropping the doubles point, it's a good win, especially against a well-coached team like Nicholls," Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes said. "We now head to Northwestern State for a tough match to close out the regular season. We're going to play hard, have fun and see what happens."
In doubles play,
Kate Oborina and
Alba Perez (4-3, 3-1 SLC) won their third straight doubles match, cruising past the Nicholls due of Noemie Piquet and Sophia Sara Safarova, 6-1, on the No. 3 court. However, the Colonels countered with wins on the top two courts to take a 1-0 lead.
Southeastern evened the match in singles play on No. 1. Playing in her final home match of a remarkable Lion career, four-time All-Southland performer
Putri Insani (12-4, 3-3 SLC) made short work of Simona Maksimovic in a 6-1, 6-3 win.
Nicholls retook the lead for the final time with a straight-set victory on court 5. All of the remaining matches went to three sets.
SLU evened the match on No. 2, as
Gabrielle Dekkers (9-6, 2-4 SLC) rallied from a set down to defeat Safarova, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3. On court 3, Lion
Carla Del Barrio (9-7, 4-2 SLC) also bounced back from a tough first set to top Dareen Hassan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, to give Southeastern a 3-2 lead.
Oborina (10-5, 5-1 SLC) clinched the match for SLU on court 4. The reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week extended her singles win streak to five matches with a 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 win over Constanza Cruz. Nicholls' Laura Lopez rallied past Perez (7-9, 1-5 SLC) on No. 6 for a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory to narrow the final margin.
Southeastern's regular season finale Thursday at Northwestern State is set for 1 p.m. in Natchitoches.
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
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