NEW ORLEANS, La. - Facing a 2-0 deficit to start and then one point away from dropping its Southland Conference opener, the Nicholls State University women's tennis team rallied for a pair of three-set victories as the Colonels knocked off New Orleans, 4-3, Monday afternoon at the Privateer Tennis Center.

Nicholls (9-7, 1-0 SLC) not only claimed a win in its Southland opener for the second straight season, but the Colonels also snapped a six-match skid against the Privateers. With the loss, New Orleans fell to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in the SLC.

Things did not start off promising for the Colonels as they were swept in all three doubles matches. Carla Bouygues/Dareen Hassan fell at No. 3 by the score of 6-3 and Laura Lopez/Constanza Cruz had the same fate at No. 1. Sophia Sara Safarova and Noemie Piquet earned an extra point in a 6-4 loss to wrap up the sweep. 

In singles play, UNO's Didi Bredberg gave the Privateers a 2-0 advantage after defeating Simona Maksimovic in straight sets. But the Colonels countered with their own straight-set victories as Cruz and Bouygues won on courts 4 and 5. Cruz took both of her sets, 6-4, while Bouygues needed a tiebreaker in a second of her 6-4, 7-5 (7-4) victory.

The final three courts went into three sets with UNO inching closer to the team victory as Laurie Barendse held off Safarova in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 triumph. Hassan kept the Colonels alive at No. 3 in the tiebreaker by taking two long points to go ahead 6-5 before breaking serve to clinch the victory and tie the match at 3-3. 

The match came down to the No. 6 court with Lopez taking on Raluca Puscas. After dropping the first set, 6-4, Lopez fought back with a 6-3 victory. Puscas then led 4-3 in the deciding set before Lopez battled to win the next three games for the victory. 

With the Colonels pulling closer to 10 wins on the season, Bouygues and Hassan each earned their 10th singles victory of the season. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls hits the road this weekend for its next two league matches, taking on Lamar (Friday, March 24) and McNeese (Sunday).