Box Score
HAMMOND – For the third straight match, the Southeastern Louisiana women's tennis team rallied after losing the doubles point to earn a victory, defeating in-state foe Louisiana Lafayette Friday night at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
The Lions (18-2) won five of six singles matches to claim their fourth straight victory. Louisiana-Lafayette dropped to 13-11 overall with the loss.
“This was a good victory for us,” Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes said. “Louisiana-Lafayette is a well-coached team and we had to play at a high level to earn this win.”
In doubles play, the Lions picked up their lone victory on the No. 2 court. The Southeastern tandem of sophomore
Adriana Castillo and freshman
Renee Villarreal ran their team-best doubles mark to 13-3 with an 8-4 victory over Hannah Appleyard and Bailey VanDyke. However, the Ragin' Cajuns answered with wins on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts to take a 1-0 lead.
Southeastern turned the tables in singles play with Louisiana-Lafayette's lone win coming at the No. 1 court. Three of Southeastern's singles victories came in straight sets.
At No. 3, Villarreal (18-0) remained undefeated in singles play, rolling past VanDyke, 6-0, 6-0. Junior
Valya Rusakova (15-5) won her seventh consecutive singles match at No. 4, cruising past Appleyard, 6-1, 6-2. Senior
Isabel Brito (15-2) extended her singles win streak to four matches with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Eleanor Bradshaw.
The other two singles wins for Southeastern saw the Lions bounce back from a set down to pick up three-set victories. At No. 2, freshman
Reginka Nychytailova (13-7) outlasted Melissa Burckhartt, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Lion sophomore
Morgane Charpenne (5-2) won her third straight singles match, defeating Juliette Clement, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5.
Southeastern will now take the weekend off before closing out Southland Conference play on Monday. The Lions, who have already clinched a share of the league title, can claim sole possession of the championship with a win over Nicholls State at 2 p.m. at the Southeastern Tennis Complex. The first 75 Southeastern students in attendance will receive free food courtesy of Southeastern Athletics.
