Senior Fleur Holtkamp won the consolation finals in singles play and was placed third in the doubles play in Ragin’ Cajun Fall Classic.
Courtesy of Sports Information 

Senior Dalina Dahlmans and freshman Katya Cornejo both emerged victorious in their singles match to lead the Lady Lions tennis team in the 2017 Ragin’ Cajun Fall Classic that took place at University of Louisiana at Lafayette last week.

“It was a great weekend for the team as there was a Southeastern player in the finals or consolation finals of all eight singles brackets,” said Dahlmans. 

With a group that had six teams who won against the Lady Lions in last spring, the team finished with a combined record of 21-14 in singles and doubles play. Head Coach Jason Hayes gave his opinion on the tournament.

“It was a great environment,” said Hayes. “We knew the competition was going to be tough, and we challenged ourselves to play at a high level. Temperatures were in the 90s both days, and our players kept fighting throughout the tournament.”

Freshman Ximena Yanez and senior Madina Vorotnikova each made the finals of their respective matches. Seniors Fleur Holtkamp and senior Dany Raygadas both won their consolation brackets while senior Ceci Mercier advanced to the consolation finals of her flight. Sophomore Yasmine Taylor also finished second in her match with a 1-1 record. 

The Lady Lions tennis team was in good form after finishing with a tournament-best 4-2 record in the Iberostar Classic two weeks ago.

“Tennis gets so mental, especially on a college level,” said Dahlmans. “Everyone that is recruited plays good tennis, but what’s happening in your mindset while the match is what matters. Winning in Mexico gave me plenty of positive vibes and confidence, but most of all, I am having fun on the court again without feeling any pain.”

According to Hayes, the tournament last week was different compared to the one that took place in Mexico.

“We knew this was going to be a tougher more physical event, more teams, tougher matches, so we wanted to focus on our nutrition and conditioning.” said Hayes “I was very happy with what I saw from the girls, they competed hard. They worked for every point, and that was the difference in the titles that we won.”

In doubles play, Dahlmans and Yanez took the consolation finals in the top flight with a pair of victories. The teams of Holtkamp and Mercier, Cornejo and freshman Jiva de Veer as well as Raygadas and Vorotnikova also picked up doubles wins.

“I feel good about where we are with our physical conditioning,” said Hayes. “We still need to work more on being stronger mentally and still have a few things we need to do tactically. We will work hard the next week and get ready for West Florida and hopefully see those changes.”

The team will head to Pensacola, Florida for their third tournament to compete in the University of West Florida Fall Fling on Oct. 13-15.