Stephen F. Austin
New Orleans
SFA Breaks Through, Defeats New Orleans 5-2 for First 2018 Win
3/17/2018 6:03:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Ladyjacks take doubles point and four of six singles matches
Box Score
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - After almost a full calendar year, the long winless streak for the Stephen F. Austin tennis team came to an end Saturday afternoon at the Schlief Tennis Complex where the Ladyjacks defeated Southland Conference foe New Orleans 5-2.
After winning a hard-fought doubles point, SFA kept its momentum rolling into singles play and captured four of the six wins there to earn the win and hopefully start a new winning streak.
"It was great to watch our kids lay it all out on the line today and get rewarded for their efforts," SFA head coach Jon McLaughlin said following the match. "Today was a total team effort and we learned how to finish a match. That bodes well for the rest of the season."
Following a 6-1 win by the Privateers in the number-one doubles flight, Gabi Guilarte and Siân Payne posted a 6-2 triumph on the second line which set up a dramatic finish in the number-three slot. Kaja Ljubic and Armelle Cerdan won their first tandem match of the season, besting the New Orleans duo of Brittany Johnson and Lea Alguacil 7-6 (3-1) to hand SFA its first lead of the match.
Although New Orleans was able to draw even with Johnson's 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nida Kamal in sixth-line singles, that deadlock would not last long. Gabi Guilarte put an end to Trang Dao's four-match winning streak by posting a 6-4, 6-1 triumph on the number-one singles line before Ljubic handled Yurina Asai 6-4, 6-1 in the number-four singles flight. Ljubic's win was her fifth-straight in singles action and upped SFA's lead to 3-1.
New Orleans pulled within a point following Anja Luethi's 6-4, 6-1 victory over Payne on the number-two line but Darinka Tiboldi sealed the Ladyjacks' win minutes later. The sophomore battled Claudette Gilhespie tooth and nail in third-flight singles and won some pressure-packed points late to post a 7-6 (6-4), 7-6 (3-1) win that provided SFA with the fourth and final point it needed to win.
For good measure, Cerdan fought back from a 7-6 (8-6) setback in her opening set against Lea Alguacil and notched wins of 6-2 and 6-4 in the second and third sets to close out the match for SFA.
Sunday at noon, the Ladyjacks will shoot for consecutive wins for the first time since March 11-12, 2017, when Southland foe Southeastern Louisiana pays a visit to the Schlief Tennis Complex.
-SFA-
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
