THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University women's tennis team stepped out of league play for three matches but came up short in all three, falling to St. Thomas (4-2), Fordham (4-0), and at Jackson State (4-3). 

The Colonels (6-8) hosted St. Thomas and Fordham on Friday and Saturday at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex before making the trip to Jackson State on Monday.

Against St. Thomas, Lea Grinberg and Constanza Cruz secured points for the Colonels with win at No. 3 and 5 singles, respectively. Sophia Sara Safarova was ousted in three sets while Noemie Piquet was in her third set when the match was clinched. 

On Saturday, Carla Bouygues and Cruz held a 5-4 advantage before Fordham locked up the double point with 6-4 wins at 2 and 3. The Rams then cruised in singles play by claiming three straight-set victories. Liu QianYu. was the lone Colonel to win a set in her 4-6, 6-1, 1-4 match that went unfinished at No. 2.

Facing a short-handed Jackson State squad, the Colonels looked to snap their seven-match skid but started off with a loss in doubles. 

With the match tied at 1-1 due to a default win at No. 6, Nicholls inched closer to claiming the team victory by taking courts 3 and 5 with straight-set victories by Safarova and Grinberg. But JSU fought back with its own straight-set win at No. 4 with Aada Inna falling to Isabela Benevides.

The final two matches came down to three sets but although Nicholls won the first in both, the Tigers rallied back to win the match, 4-3. QianYu fell at No. 1, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6 while Bouygues was defeated 6-3, 3-6, 5-7. 

UP NEXT
Nicholls will host New Orleans on Wednesday, April 2 for a Southland Conference match. First ball is scheduled for 2 p.m.