NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Playing in its first Southland Conference match of the season, the Nicholls State University women's tennis team nearly earned the opening victory, falling 4-3 Friday afternoon at Stephen F. Austin.
 
With inclement weather in the forecast, singles were played first and both teams won three courts. SFA jumped out to a 3-0 advantage before Nicholls stormed back with three wins to force doubles play. SFA went on to clinch the team victory with wins on courts 1 and 2.
 
"The way we stormed back, it was something to see," said Greg Harkins, Nicholls tennis head coach.  "I was very proud to be a Colonel after their effort. I have to give huge credit to Simi, Carla and Laura for getting us to the deciding point. We came up short on the doubles side, but it was a really tough conference battle."
 
The Ladyjacks notched wins on courts 5, 3, and 6 before Nicholls rallied. Simona Maksimovic started the comeback with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory on the top court over Paula Cerda. Laura Lopez also had a three-set victory on line 2, then Carla Bouygues went into tiebreaker in all three sets. Bouygues outlasted Annie Walker, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). 
 
In doubles, SFA took the courts 6-2 and 6-1.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels wrap up their two-match weekend on Sunday against Sam Houston. First serve in Huntsville, Texas is scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
FOLLOW THE COLONELS
Follow Nicholls Athletics on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the official YouTube channel (Nicholls Athletics).