Junior Renee Villarreal competed in a match that went to a third set against the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year.
The Lion’s Roar / Tamara Alexander
In the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament this past Friday, the Lady Lions, seeded No. 8, took on the No. 1 seed Nicholls State University Colonels but fell to their competition, finishing at 0-4.
The Lady Lions competed in the SLC Tournament, which was held in Beaumont, Texas at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center. In court No. 1 and court No. 3, Nicholls took the point for the doubles after a pair of 2-8 wins with junior Renee Villarreal and freshman Lucia Bustamante in court No. 1 and the other with freshman Natalie Duran and freshman Madina Vorotnikova in court No. 3. Sophomore Margaux Kaltenbacher and freshman Dany Raygadas were ahead 6-2 in court No. 2 when the doubles point was achieved by the Colonels, leaving the match unfinished.
Despite losing the doubles point, the Lady Lions remained focused and on their game for the singles matches. In court No. 3, Kaltenbacher finished 1-6 and 2-6 against Nicholls’ Marie Aubert. In court No. 5, Raygadas versed Kateryna Nakonechna, finishing 3-6 and 0-6. Duran finished 3-6 and 2-6 against Isla Brock in court No. 6. After these three losses, the match was done, leaving the other matches in court No. 1 with Villarreal, in court No. 2 with Bustamante and in court No. 4 with Vorotnikova unfinished. Villarreal was at 7-6 and 4-6, Bustamante was at 4-6, 6-2 and 2-5 and Vorotnikova was at 6-3, 1-6 and 2-2 when the match finished.
Despite the Lady Lions losing the match, head coach Jason Hayes felt they did well.
“We had a couple of really good practices leading up to this game,” said Hayes. “Even though they were the better team, we still played well.”
Hayes also commented on how proud he was on the team’s performance.
“We wanted to show that we belong in the tournament,” said Hayes. “I’m happy with the team and every day they always represent Southeastern with class and that’s why I’m so proud of them.”
The match concluded the season for the Lady Lions. Hayes feels the team has experienced a great deal of development.
“It’s not about how much we won or lost, but about how much we grew. It gives us a lot of momentum to build on for the future,” said Hayes. “You take what you can and build on that for next year.”
For more information on the Lady Lions, visit lionsports.net.