NEW ORLEANS  – The Nicholls State University women's tennis team opened conference play Friday at New Orleans and was defeated, 6-1, at the University Tennis Center.
 
The Colonels were swept in doubles before Mariia Kozachok earned a straight-set victory in singles. Nicholls fell in straight sets in the other six matches.
 
"It was nice to be in a conference match. There was a lot of good competitive tennis across the line," said head Greg Harkins. "We gained valuable experience from the competitive atmosphere and will continue to grow and improve from it and play complete matches from beginning to end."
 
Although the Colonels lost the top two doubles matches, Ambika Pande and Andrea Mastrippolito held a 5-4 lead in the No. 3 court when play was suspended. In singles, New Orleans won the first five completed matches before Kozachok picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Colonels will host Mississippi Valley State for two midweek matches on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. Admission for all home tennis matches is free of charge.
 
THE SCORE SHEET
 
New Orleans 6, Nicholls 1
Singles competition
1. Trang Dao (UNO) def. Lingfeng Gu (NICH) 6-2, 6-2
2. Anja Luethi (UNO) def. Clemence Krug (NICH) 6-4, 6-2
3. Anna Segarra Rius (UNO) def. Ambika Pande (NICH) 6-4, 6-1
4. Mariia Kozachok (NICH) def. Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) 6-4, 6-2
5. Brittany Johnson (UNO) def. Changwei Wei (NICH) 6-3, 6-2
6. Yasmine Rashad (UNO) def. Andrea Mastrippolito (NICH) 7-5, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Anja Luethi/Yurina Asai (UNO) def. Lingfeng Gu/Clemence Krug (NICH) 6-4
2. Trang Dao/Yasmine Rashad (UNO) def. Mariia Kozachok/Changwei Wei (NICH) 6-0
3. Brittany Johnson/Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) vs. Ambika Pande/Andrea Mastrippolito (NICH) 4-5, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
Nicholls 2-2, 0-1 SLC
New Orleans 4-2, 1-0 SLC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,5,6,3,2,4)