The day was marked with victories in both singles and doubles category for Lady Lions tennis team. While the pairing of Lucia Bustamante and Natalie Duran won their doubles bracket, juniors Madina Vorotnikova, Dalina Dahlmans and Ceci Mercier grabbed victories in singles play.

The Lady Lions tennis team played their second of the four tournaments in the fall portion of the tennis calendar at the Ragin’ Cajun Fall Classic on Saturday, Oct. 1. 

The Lady Lions had an overall combined record of 7-5 in doubles play and a 2-1 record in the singles play during the tournament. Head Coach Jason Hayes was pleased with the effort shown by the Lady Lions.

“I think that we did good,” said Hayes. “We had a tough draw. There were lots of good teams, difficult matches, but I liked the fact that the players performed and supported each other.”

However, Hayes also points out to some of the improvement in the player’s game.

“I’m happy with how we’re playing, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Hayes. “We have to be more aggressive and try to win more points in the future.”

Hayes plans to make the tennis team the best they can be for the spring season. The team has reached the halfway stage in the fall preparation and Hayes has set clear goals for the upcoming tournaments. 

“We want to get little better each time we go on the court, just try to stay positive and we might make some mistakes but I hope well for the future,” said Hayes.

The Lady Lions also have a few new faces this season along with some new pairings in the doubles category. Freshmen Yasmine Taylor and Sarah Eutinger as well as junior Fleur Holtkamp are representing the Lady Lions for the first time this season. 

As for the doubles, the duo of Bustamante and Duran, who played well this tournament and the pair of juniors Dahlmans and Holtkamp, who did well in the previous tournament in Monroe, are also newly formed. Hayes is working out all of these changes and is looking for positive results.

“We try to find who will work with the different players, what side of court they best play from and who works good in each half of the court,” said Hayes.

Lady Lions has two more tournaments left in the fall as a preparation for the spring season that starts in January. Their next match is at the UWF Fall Fling in Pensacola, Florida from Oct. 14-16. This is followed by the final tournament for the fall, the George E. Fourmaux Invitational in Hammond from Nov. 4-6.