HATTIESBURG, Miss.  – The Nicholls State University women's tennis team closed out its 2013 fall schedule on a high note as the Colonels combined for a 15-5 record in singles and a 7-2 mark in doubles in the Golden Eagle Fall Invitational hosted by the University of Southern Miss. 

Marie Aubert, Stephanie Barnett and Klara Skopac went undefeated in both singles and doubles to claim titles in their respective draws. Katya Nakonechna had only one setback for the weekend which came in the Black Draw Championship against her teammate as Aubert took the title match 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

"This was a great tournament for the girls and I'm very happy and proud of them for the way each and every one of them competed," Nicholls tennis head coach Meenakshi Sundaram said. "They hustled and stayed aggressive regardless of the situation. It's a good way to end the fall. We'll assess our strengths and weaknesses and be ready for the spring."

In the Black Draw, Aubert and Nakonechna's match was set up after each went 2-0. Aubert won both of her bouts in straight sets, defeating Southeastern Louisiana's Nastya Tokareva 6-1, 6-4 before knocking off Carolin Drescher (USM) in a close 7-5, 7-6 decision. Nakonechna got passed Nelo Phiri (ULL) and then rallied to defeat Northwestern State's Aliona Ludutska 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Barnett dominated in the Gold Draw, winning all three of her matches in straight sets. After needing extra points in the her opening round win against New Orleans' Soledad Calerom (7-6 (10), 6-2), Barnett went on to defeat Southeastern's Valya Rusakova 6-1, 6-2 and Petra Horakova of ULM 7-5, 6-4.

Two Colonels competed in the Gray Draw with Skopac posting a 3-0 mark while Isla Brock went 2-1. Skopac won her first match 7-6 (3), 6-2 against Angela Tejedor (ULM) and advanced to beat Julie Cremers (ULL) 7-6, 6-4. In the final match, Skopac came away with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Golden Eagle Alex Kitchen. Brock defeated a pair of Ragin' Cajuns in her matches, beating Juliette Clement 6-2, 6-3 before upending Cremers in the consolation bracket 6-4, 6-3. Brock fell in her second match to Kitchen in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Rounding out singles play for the Colonels were Eva Castiglioni and Emma Kranendonk. Castiglioni notched two wins in the Blue Draw, defeating Elanor Bradshaw (ULL) 6-1, 6-0 and Amiha Mrad (UNO) 6-3, 6-3 with a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Kathrin Waidner (USM) in between. Kranendonk fell in her opening match against Anna Rius (UNO) 6-2, 7-5 before retiring against Margaux Kaltenbacher (SLU).

In doubles action, Skopac and Aubert breezed through the Red Draw with 8-1 wins against Ahlqvist/ Cremers (ULL) and Bradshaw (ULL)/ Gurgenyan (USM) before winning 8-2 in the final match against Castillo/ Tokareva (SLU). Barnett/ Nakonechna had similar results in the Red Draw, defeating Calderom/Rashad (UNO) 8-4, Phiri/Breaux (ULL) and Ladutska/Piatakova 8-5. The duo of Brock/Castiglioni also claimed a win in doubles, defeating Nolan/Sans (UNO) 8-4 in the consolation bracket of the Orange Draw.

The Colonels will open up their 2014 spring season on Jan. 19 at LSU. Nicholls' first home match is scheduled for Feb. 9 against ULM.