Stephen F. Austin
Central Arkansas
SFA Outlasts UCA For 4-3 Home Victory
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Stephen F. Austin 4, Central Arkansas 3
Schlief Tennis Complex · Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (14-6, 8-1 SLC); UCA (8-5, 3-5 SLC)
Up Next: at Sam Houston State · Saturday, April 18 · 1 p.m.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin needed a sweep in the doubles competition to finally outlast Central Arkansas 4-3 at the Schlief Tennis Complex. The win keeps SFA in the hunt for at least a share of the Southland Conference regular season title, improving 8-1 in SLC play and 14-6 overall.
It took a while to finally get the Ladyjacks and Bears on the court facing each other as the original date in March was rained out, then relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, before being shifted a final time to the Schlief Tennis Center. But once the two teams took to the court, it proved to be worth the wait.
With both SFA and UCA having to play at least three matches in the next five days, the two teams decided to stage the singles matches first, then play the doubles competition should it be necessary. Things started out well for the Ladyjacks as Malena Gordo earned a 6-1, 6-4 decision in the No. 1 spot, followed by a 6-2, 6-2 win by Vivienne Kulicke, who moved up to the No. 2 spot.
Julia Lorca earned a 7-5, 6-1 decision in the No. 6 spot, with Denise Maxl falling 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 3 spot, giving SFA the 3-1 lead with two matches to play. UCA then rallied to take the No. 4 and No. 5 singles, tying the match and forcing the two teams to stage the doubles competition to break the tie.
Playing in its final home match of the year, SFA then used that home court advantage in doubles play, beginning with an 8-4 decision by Julia Lorca and Denise Maxl. The Ladyjacks then clinched the match with an 8-6 win by Vivienne Kulicke and Valeria Terentyeva, followed by an 8-7 victory by Malena Gordo and Dhanielly Quevedo to close out the sweep in the doubles.
SFA has two matches remaining in the regular season, both of which will be on the road with both regular season title and postseason seeding implications on the line. The Ladyjacks head to Huntsville for a 1 p.m. match against rival Sam Houston State Saturday afternoon before heading to Beaumont for a Sunday morning match against Lamar to close out the regular season.
Stephen F. Austin 4, Central Arkansas 3
Singles Competition
#1 -- Malena Gordo (SFA) def. Nataly Yoo (UCA) 6-1, 6-4
#2 -- Vivienne Kulicke (SFA) def. Kelsey Williams (UCA) 6-2, 6-2
#3 -- Kristina Horsikyan (UCA) def. Denise Maxl (SFA) 6-4, 6-4
#4 -- Allison Murphy (UCA) def. Dhanielly Quevedo (SFA) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
#5 -- Cassidy Crawford (UCA) def. Valeria Terentyeva (SFA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
#6 -- Julia Lorca (SFA) def. Bianca Strukelj (UCA) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles Competition
#1 -- Malena Gordo/Dhanielly Quevedo (SFA) def. Cassidy Crawford/Nataly Yoo (UCA) 8-7
#2 -- Julia Lorca/Denise Maxl (SFA) def. Allison Murphy/Kelsey Williams (UCA) 8-4
#3 -- Vivienne Kulicke/Valeria Terentyeva (SFA) def. Kristina Horsikyana/Bianca Strukelj (UCA) 8-6
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
