THIBODAUX, La. – Playing its first match as a ranked team, the Nicholls women's tennis team took on Troy University on Saturday  at the Colonel Tennis Complex and the Colonels were handed a 4-1 loss.

Stephanie Barnett and Klara Skopac were able to win the No. 2 match 8-5 for Nicholls (2-3), but the Trojans (3-5) won 8-2 on the top court before clinching the doubles point with an 8-3 win at No. 3.

In singles, Barnett suffered her first loss of the season, falling 6-4, 6-1 to Trang Huynh on the No. 1 court. Kateryna Nakonechna lost in straight sets at No. 2 before Skopac completed her perfect day with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Monica Gonzalez. But in the No. 3 match, Marie Aubert suffered a straight-set loss, clinching the match for Troy.

"Congratulations to Troy as they came into the match today with a huge incentive to perform and they played a great match and got the job done. We competed hard today but needed to dig deep to get the job done and we were not able to do that," said Nicholls tennis head coach Meenakshi Sundaram. "Getting ranked is a privilege and you have to fight a lot harder than we did today to maintain that. We will learn from this and make sure we know how to deal with this situation next time."

The Colonels will play their next four matches on the road, starting Feb. 28 against UNC Asheville.

Troy 4, #72 Nicholls 1
Singles competition
1. Trang Huynh (TROY) def. Stephanie Barnett (NICH) 6-4, 6-1
2. Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) def. Kateryna Nakonechna (NICH) 6-4, 6-2
3. Anja Cosovic (TROY) def. Marie Aubert (NICH) 6-3, 6-4
4. Klara Skopac (NICH) def. Monica Gonzalez (TROY) 6-4, 6-2
5. Emma Kranendonk (NICH) vs. Margot De Haan (TROY) 0-5, unfinished
6. Brooke Durden (TROY) vs. Isla Brock (NICH) no result

Doubles competition
1. Anja Cosovic/Trang Huynh (TROY) def. Isla Brock/Emma Kranendonk (NICH) 8-2
2. Stephanie Barnett/Klara Skopac (NICH) def. Margot De Haan/Monica Gonzalez (TROY) 8-5
3. Lyubov Dorofeeva/Brooke Durden (TROY) def. Marie Aubert/Kateryna Nakonechna (NICH) 8-3

Match Notes:
Troy 3-5
Nicholls 2-3; National ranking #72
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,4,3)