HAMMOND, La. – In a grueling contest that featured five three-set singles matches, the Southeastern Louisiana University women's tennis team battled to a hard-fought 4-2 nonconference victory over Loyola University of New Orleans Tuesday evening at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
After dropping the doubles point, SLU (10-3) rallied to win four singles matches to clinch its third straight victory. The visiting Wolfpack, currently ranked eighth in the NAIA national rankings, fell to 6-2 overall.
"We knew we were in for a tough match against a nationally-ranked Loyola team," Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes said. "Sometimes it's difficult to get up for a nonconference match in the middle of your conference season, but our players showed a lot of fight in singles play. Their ability to battle for three wins in three sets is a sign of a good team."
In doubles play,
Leana Gomez and
Aitana Darder (8-4) cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Wolfpack pair of Avery Frierson and Isabella Leano on the No. 2 court. However, Loyola answered with wins on the other two courts to take a 1-0 lead.
SLU's
Claudia Di Leonardo (7-6) earned the lone straight-set win of the contest on No. 3. The sophomore topped Micaela Ponce, 6-4, 6-1, to tie the match at 1-1.
Gomez (6-6) gave the Lions a 2-1 lead with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 win over Lucy Carpenter on court 1. Moments later, SLU's
Panatchakorn Suanarsa (9-4) rallied from a set down for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Avrora Volkova on No. 4 to put the Lions up, 3-1.
After Loyola trimmed the lead with a three-set win of its own on No. 2, Southeastern's
Taisia Bolsova (9-4) clinched the win for the Lions. The reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week came back for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Frierson on No. 6.
Southeastern will close out its four-match home stand Saturday, hosting McNeese for a 1 p.m. SLC match 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
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