HAMMOND, La. − Nicholls State University's women's tennis team saw a fourth-place finish at the George E. Fourmaux Fed Cup Invitational hosted by Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La., on Oct. 26 through 28.

The host Lady Lions took the tournament title with a 3-1 record, but their only loss was to Nicholls. The Colonels trailed 2-0 against SLU before senior Lingfeng Gu closed out an impressive comeback for the Red and Gray with an 8-7 (7-4) win against Flory Bierma for a 3-2 victory.

"It was a solid weekend for the ladies. We were able to secure two victories versus conference rivals, which is great," said Greg Harkins, Nicholls Tennis head coach. "We're continuing to improve. The level of play is high across the board, but the girls really dug in and all the matches were competitive this weekend."

Before Gu's clincher against SLU, Nicholls claimed singles victories by freshmen Simona Maksimovic and Carla Bouygues. Maksimovic secured a 7-6 win over Southeastern's Kyra Akinnibi while Bouygues picked up an 8-6 win over the Lions' Polina Sleptsova.

The team's first match on Saturday boasted victories from freshman Laura Lopez and Gu. Lopez defeated the Cardinals' Bianca Vitale 8-4 while Gu picked up an 8-3 win over Denise Simonetti. Freshmen Mikaela Konstantinova and Bouygues clinched the match with an 8-4 doubles victory.

On Sunday, Nicholls fell to West Florida 3-2 in its first match of the day. Junior Morgan Forshag and Bouygues were responsible for the team's two wins with scores of 9-7 and 8-6, respectively. In their second match, the Colonels suffered a 4-1 loss to New Orleans. Lopez had the team's lone victory in singles with a final score of 8-5.

"It was a solid weekend of tennis and more than that, I was impressed because everyone at some point or another was able to contribute and that's what we want going forward," Coach Harkins said. "Bringing home two conference wins against solid programs that have had a lot of success against us bodes well."

West Florida finished second, also posting a 3-1 record in pool play. New Orleans followed in third place, finishing at 2-1, and Nicholls was fourth at 2-2. Xavier and Lamar rounded out the tournament in fifth and sixth places.

UP NEXT
The Colonels will compete in their final event of the fall on Nov. 15 through 17 at the Tops'l Invitational in Destin, Fla. 

For the latest news on the women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_WTEN.

George E. Fourmaux Fed Cup Invitational – Oct. 26-28, 2019 – Southeastern Tennis Complex (Hammond, La.)
 
                                    W        L         PF       PA
Southeastern La.         3          1          13        7
West Florida               3          1          12        9
New Orleans               2          1          9          6
Nicholls                       2          2          9          11
Xavier                         0          1          1          3
Lamar                          0          4          6          14


Saturday, Oct. 26
 
Nicholls 3, Lamar 2
Singles:
Jasmin Buchta (LU) 9-7 def. Simona Maksimovic (NICH) 9-7
Laura Lopez (NICH) def. Bianca Vitale (LU) 8-4
Lingfeng Gu (NICH) def. Denise Simonetti (LU) 8-3
Natalia Garcia Molina (LU) def. Morgan Forshag (NICH) 9-7
Doubles:
Mikaela Konstantinova/Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Jayci Wong/Ana Jolic (LU) 8-4
 
Sunday, Oct. 27
 West Florida 3, Nicholls 2
Singles:
Berta Bonardi (UWF) def. Laura Lopez (LU) 8-2
Irene Recuenco (UWF) def. Lingfeng Gu (NICH) 8-1
Morgan Forshag (NICH) def. Karina Silwanowicz (UWF) 9-7
Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Gabriela Araujo (UWF) 8-6
Doubles:
Manon Meulenberg/Samantha Echerairia (UWF) def. Simona Maksimovic/Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-2
 
New Orleans 4, Nicholls 1
Singles:
Ank Vullings (UNO) def. Simona Maksimovic (NICH) 9-8 (10-8)
Laura Lopez (NICH) def. Lea Alguacil (UNO) 8-5
Claudette Gilhespie (UNO) def. Morgan Forshag (NICH) 8-5
Yurina Asai (UNO) def. Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-0
Doubles:
Mar Gendra/Salima Abdelrahim (UNO) def. Lingfeng Gu/Carla Bouygues (NICH) 9-8 (10-8)
 
Monday, Oct. 28
Nicholls 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2
Singles:
Simona Maksimovic (NICH) def. Kyra Akinnibi (SLU) 7-6, ret.
Lingfeng Gu (NICH) def. Flory Bierma (SLU) 8-7 (7-4)
Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Polina Sleptsova (SLU) 8-6
Teodora Mitrovic (SLU) def. Mikaela Konstantinova (NICH) 8-2
Doubles:
Putri Insani/Ximena Yanez (SLU) def. Morgan Forshag/Laura Lopez (NICH) 8-0