HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana tennis team closed out the fall on a high note, winning a combined four draws in singles and doubles play at this weekend's Southern Miss Halloween Classic.
 
In singles play, freshman Nastya Tokareva, freshman Renee Villarreal and senior Isabel Brito each won their respective singles flights. In doubles play, Villarreal and sophomore Adriana Castillo were the winners of their draw, while Tokareva and Brito shook off a first round loss to win the consolation bracket in their draw.
 
“This was a great weekend for Southeastern Tennis,” Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes commented. “We talked about the importance of this being the last weekend and a chance to compete against many of our conference opponents. We came out and played great tennis.
 
“This team has improved week after week this fall,” Hayes added. “The only negative is I have to wait until February to watch them play another team. If we continue to work hard and improve, we could have a very special spring.”
 
Perhaps the most impressive showing of the weekend in singles action came from Tokareva. In Friday's semifinals, she defeated Lamar's Carolina Silas, who was 15-6 at the No. 1 position last spring for the Lady Cardinals. On Saturday, she faced off with Parija Maloo (18-3 last spring) of Nicholls State and came away with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 victory to win the Black Draw.
 
Villarreal was the lone Lady Lion to finish undefeated in both singles and doubles play for the tournament, finishing the weekend with a 6-0 record. In singles action, she matched up in Saturday's finals of the Orange Draw with Helene Czudek of Lamar, a second team All-Southland Conference performer last spring. The Monterrey, Mexico product made short work of her future league rival in a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
 
The lone senior on the Lion roster had an impressive week, as Brito shined in her first singles action of the fall. In the finals of the Purple Draw, the Badajoz, Spain native swept past Murray State's Suzaan Stoltz in a 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
 
In all six Lions made finals of their respective draws. Castillo, freshman Regina Nychytailova and sophomore Morgane Charpenne all lost hard fought matches in their respective draws.
 
Castillo and Villarreal picked up two wins on Saturday to win the Peach Draw. In the opening match of the day, they moved past Alicia Porte and Carolina Maso of Lamar, 8-2. The Lion pair outlasted the Central Arkansas duo of Sasha Ruocco and Simona Horsikyan, 9-8, in the finals.
 
After suffering a first round loss in the Grey Draw, Brito and Tokareva opened the consolation bracket with an 8-0 win over Kelly Tomlin and Danielle Kerindi of Jackson State. In the consolation finals, Brito and Tokareva earned an 8-3 victory over UCA's Stephanie Gonzalez and Ana Buyukyan.
 
Southeastern will open the spring season on Feb. 1. The Lions will travel to Jackson State for a 1 p.m. road match.