Bobcats Take Down Cajuns In SBC Tournament First Round

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's tennis team jumped out to a great start in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but Texas State rallied to take the final four singles points to advance with a 4-2 win at City Park.

Louisiana (4-19) opened up with a 2-1 advantage after wins by Kelly Drew and Nelo Phiri, but the match came down to No. 4 singles where Texas State's Evan Dench held off Alexandra Way in the third set for the match's clinching point.

"It was a tight match from the beginning to the end with the outcome in the balance until the last singles match," Louisiana head coach Greg Harkins said. "Unfortunately, Texas State was a little bit better in the end and that was the difference. "At this level the margins are small, which is the difference between success and failure."

Inclement weather moved the match up from its originally-scheduled 10:00 a.m. start time and still forced a 25-minute delay early in singles play. But the Cajuns came back from the delay to take points at both Nos. 1 and 2 singles to stake itself to an early lead.

Drew and Phiri both needed just two sets apiece to get UL on the scoreboard with Drew earning her 10th singles win of her true freshman season by taking down Ana Laura Gutierrez (6-2, 6-4) in the top spot. Phiri, the team's lone senior, quickly followed that up with a (6-1, 6-3) victory over Monica Pieratt on the second court, finishing off her Cajun career with a victory.

But those Cajun points were sandwiched around a No. 3 singles win by Pippa Carr (6-4, 6-3) over Elena Sava and the Bobcats tied it up at 2-2 with a straight-set (6-0, 6-1) by Katy Collins over Lauren Dupuis at No. 6 singles.

Shannon Beckett held off a second-set rally from Abby Johnson (6-0, 7-5) on the No. 5 court to give Texas State its first lead of the match at 3-2 before attention turned to the No. 4 court where Way took the second set from Dench to force a deciding third set.

But with Way looking to force the match to extend to doubles play to decide the match, Dench managed to break a 5-5 tie in the third set by taking the final two games to secure the clinching point.

"This group handled a lot of adversity this season and kept their heads up and gave it their all every time they stepped on the court," Harkins said. "We gained a lot of experience, which bodes well for the future. I am proud of how they represented themselves for the program, community and University."

#GeauxCajuns
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Texas State 4, Louisiana 2
Singles competition
1. Drew, Kelly (UL) def. Ana Laura Gutierrez (TXST) 6-2, 6-4
2. Phiri, Nelo (UL) def. Monica Pieratt (TXST) 6-1, 6-3
3. Pippa Carr (TXST) def. Sava, Elena (UL) 6-4, 6-3
4. Eva Dench (TXST) def. Way, Alexandra (UL) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
5. Shannon Beckett (TXST) def. Johnson, Abby (UL) 6-0, 7-5
6. Katy Collins (TXST) def. Dupuis, Lauren (UL) 6-0, 6-1

Match Notes:
Louisiana 4-19
Texas State 9-6
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (1,3,2,6,5,4)
2015 Sun Belt Conference Women's Tennis Championship - First Round
#8 Texas State vs. #9 Louisiana
ITA Shortened Format: Singles played first, Doubles if necessary
RAIN DELAY: Approximately 25 minutes beginning at 9:57 AM CT
Official: Dale Murphy T-3:42 A-150

Players Mentioned

Kelly Drew

Lauren Dupuis

Abby Johnson

Nelo Phiri

Elena Sava

Alexandra Way