March 16, 2013

Results

THIBODAUX, La. - The bottom of the line-up has been important for the Lamar women's tennis team this season, and that fact was especially apparent on Saturday afternoon as the Lady Cardinals held on for a 4-3 victory over Nicholls at Colonel Tennis Complex.

"It was a tough match today, but we finished strong and won on the road," head coach David Wong said. "We played well in doubles, which ended up being the deciding factor. We finished strong, but now it's time to get ready for Southeastern tomorrow."

Lamar has now won seven of its last eight Southland Conference opening matches.

After the Lady Cards grabbed the doubles point to take an early lead, both Alicia Porte and Natalia Mayagoitia picked up straight-sets singles victories to put Lamar a point away from clinching. Porte won 6-2, 6-4 over Eva Castiglioni at No. 5, and Mayagoitia earned the line six victory with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Rachel Howie.

Unfortunately for the Cards, Carolina Masó and Dariya Dashutina dropped their matches on courts two and three, respectively. Masó lost a tight 7-5, 7-5 affair to Marie Aubert, and Dasutina was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Natalia Cardiff.

The other two matches went the distance as Carolina Salas lost 4-6, 6-2, 2-6 to Parija Maloo at the top spot, but Alessandra Pennesi made up for it, bouncing back to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 over Isla Brock at No. 4.

In doubles, Salas and Hélène Czudek lost 8-3 at line one, but the combo of Porte and Masó dominated for an 8-1 victory in the second. Mayagoitia and Dashutina closed it out with an 8-6 win to secure the point.

The Lady Cards (5-6, 1-0 SLC) will look to keep it going on Sunday with a trip to Hammond to take on Southeastern Louisiana.

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