The Lady Lions tennis team secured three wins last week. Wednesday featured a doubleheader for the Lions. Southeastern shut out both teams Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Lions continued their success Saturday when they defeated conference foe University of New Orleans. Southeastern improved to 14-4 following the three wins.
Southern University was the first opponent up against Southeastern in the doubleheader. With only five players making the trip for Southern, the Jaguars forfeited wins on one singles court and one doubles court. Sophomore Renee Villarreal had success on court as she defeated Southern’s Laura Syori. The success spread to the other Lady Lions as Southeastern swept the Jaguars in every match across the courts.
“I think we did a pretty good job in doubles and then in singles. They all gave their best. I’m very proud of them,” said Adriana Castillo, the team captain.
Alcorn State was the second team to face the Lady Lions on Wednesday night. Southeastern looked to ride the momentum of the earlier win into their matchup with the Lady Braves of Alcorn State. Southeastern swept past Alcorn State. The sweep would mean two wins in a single day for Villarreal, sophomore Nastya Tokareva, freshman Avika Sagwal and freshman Margaux Kaltenbacher.
“I was happy with how well we came out. We were focused at the beginning and usually when were focused, we play real well,” said Head Coach Jason Hayes, discussing the  performances in the doubleheader.
Sunday’s match against the University of New Orleans proved to be more of a challenge to the Lady Lions. Southeastern took the point from doubles after the team of Castillo and Reginka Nychytailova were victorious on court two, followed by the win from Tokareva and Kaltenbacher on court three.
The point from doubles competition would end up being vital as Southeastern tied UNO in singles 3-3. On court one, Villarreal made quick work of her opponent by winning 6-2, 6-1. Court six would be the next match to finish as the Lady Lions gained another win with Kaltenbacher defeating UNO’s Amina Mrad 6-1, 6-2. The following courts to finish had Southeastern falling to UNO, thus bringing the match to three all. With the weight of victory on her shoulders, it was up to Nychytailova to bring home the final win for the Lady Lions. After going to a third set, Nychytailova played a nearly perfect set to take the win 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
“I didn’t show my best game. Nevertheless, the main thing is that the team fought hard in every match,” said senior Valya Rusakova. “Our team win is more important.”
The Lady Lions have three matches left in the regular season and will play McNeese State University with home court advantage.