University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 15
Corpus Christi, Texas
All Day
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Contender Crossfit Islander Open
Cajuns Have Great First Day At Islander Open
9/15/2017 10:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – Louisiana's women's tennis team began their fall season on Friday, taking part in the Contender CrossFit Islander Open and after the first day the Cajuns had put a solid performance together seeing freshmen Floriane Picaut and Dana Radovanovic advance to the quarterfinals in the singles draw.
Picaut and Radovanovic played doubles together and they advanced to the semifinals in the doubles draw as well joining the senior pairing of Kelly Drew and Abby Johnson to give the Cajuns a great start to the weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles): The Cajuns day was full and busy and it started with several wins across the board. Radovanovic began her Cajuns career with a long but hard fought win against Prairie View A&M's Constanza Aranguiz, 2-6, 6-3, 10-2.
Radovanovic dropped the first set but she quickly collected herself and dug her heels in. She came out on a tear in the second set and easily took it 6-3 to force a third set tiebreaker.
The breaker was never in doubt as Radovanovic rode the momentum she gained in the second set to a 10-2 victory to advance to the next round.
In the next round Radovanovic faced the University of Incarnate Word's Jelena Dordan, but after Radovanovic had gotten the sweet taste of victory in the first round, she wasn't ready to bow out just yet. In straight sets 7-5, 6-1, she handled Dordan to lock up her trip to the quarterfinals.
Picaut's road wasn't as difficult, having a first-round bye, but she made sure to take care of business in the only match she had on the day.
During the second round, she faced the University of Texas at San Antonio's Diya Menon, who had a three-set battle of her own in the first round, and Picaut took advantage of her own fresh legs never giving Menon a chance.
Only needing straight sets she knocked off Menon 6-2, 6-3 to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals and a chance to move closer to the championship match.
Drew had her a battle in the first round, playing a marathon with UTSA's Laura Cabrera that saw 26 combined points in a third set tiebreaker that finished with Drew coming away with the win 2-6, 6-2, 14-12.
After dropping the first set Drew gritted her teeth and came out on fire to take the second set 6-2, setting up the tiebreaker that wouldn't end.
The two women traded points going back and forth, when late in the breaker Drew finally saw her chance and attacked taking points 13 and 14 to get the win and move onto the second round.
In the second-round Drew once again found herself in a marathon, she dropped the match to PV's Noharika Ramos 6-4, 3-6, 10-6. But she made it a battle, and showed how a senior performs under pressure.
Johnson had a solid win of her own on the day, taking care of her first-round matchup against UIW's Sara Djurdjevic in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. But Johnson was unable get by UTSA's Ivana Ilic, losing in the second round 6-3, 6-3.
Sophomore Milena Achlamov dropped her first-round matchup against UTSA's Charleen Tiwari 3-6, 6-7(8). But she went on to win her first-round back draw match against PV's Stacy Lackey in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 to end her day on a positive note.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles): Continuing their busy day, Picaut and Radovanovic had a first-round bye before taking on PV's grouping of Ruhl/Findley handling the pair 6-4 to move onto the semifinals.
Joining their teammates, but taking a different route were Drew and Johnson. In the first-round they took down the PV doubles team of Aranguiz/Duran Castellanos 6-1.
But in the second round their opponents needed to post a withdrawal and that meant that the Cajuns pair moved into the semifinals joining their teammates.
While the Cajuns pair of junior Carla Ortega and freshman Morgan Forshag lost their first-round matchup to UIW's Djurdjevic/Kareh 6-3, they did win their matchup against PV's Rama/Lackey 7-5 to move on to semifinals in the back draw.
QUOTEWORTHY (Head coach Stephanie Vallejos):
On the Cajuns Day: "Everyone showed good fight today and for our first day of competition, that's exactly how I want to see us kick off the year. I'm excited for Forshag, Picaut and Radovanovic to pick up their first college wins in their first day of competition. For Picaut and Radovanovic to end day one undefeated is especially a big moment for them. We look forward to tomorrow and will continue to fight for more."
NOTEWORTHY: Three Cajuns picked up their first career wins in their first career matches. Picaut and Radovanovic checked both singles and doubles victories off the list, while Forshag took her first career win in doubles; Drew picked up her 30th career win with her first-round victory.
UP NEXT: The Cajuns return to the courts tomorrow to continue their push towards both a singles and doubles title. Follow @RaginCajunsWT on twitter for updates from matches as they happen and a link to the recap at the end of the day.
Contender CrossFit Islander Open (Day One)
September 15, 2017 at Corpus Christi, Texas
Singles (First Round) Main Draw:
Kelly Drew (UL) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSA) 2-6, 6-2, 14-12
Abby Johnson (UL) def. Sara Djurdjevic (UIW) 7-5, 6-4
Dana Radovanovic (UL) def. Constanza Aranguiz (PV) 2-6, 6-3, 10-2
Charleen Tiwari (UTSA) def. Milena Achlamov (UL) 6-3, 7-6(8)
Singles (Second Round) Main Draw:
Floriane Picaut (UL) def. Diya Menon (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
Radovanovic (UL) def. Jelena Dordan (UIW) 7-5, 6-1
Noharika Ramos (PV) def. Drew (UL) 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
Ivana Ilic (UTSA) def. Johnson (UL) 6-3, 6-3
Singles (First Round) Back Draw:
Achlamov (UL) def. Stacy Lackey (PV) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles (First Round) Main Draw:
Drew/Johnson (UL) def. Aranguiz/Duran Castellanos (PV) 6-1
Djurdjevic/Kareh (UIW) def. Ortega/Forshag (UL) 6-3
Doubles (Second Round) Main Draw:
Picaut/Radovanovic (UL) def. Ruhl/Findley (PV) 6-4
Drew/Johnson (UL) def. Boers/Tiwari (UTSA) W/O
Doubles (First Round) Back Draw:
Ortega/Forshag (UL) def. Rama/Lackey (PV) 7-5
Picaut and Radovanovic played doubles together and they advanced to the semifinals in the doubles draw as well joining the senior pairing of Kelly Drew and Abby Johnson to give the Cajuns a great start to the weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles): The Cajuns day was full and busy and it started with several wins across the board. Radovanovic began her Cajuns career with a long but hard fought win against Prairie View A&M's Constanza Aranguiz, 2-6, 6-3, 10-2.
Radovanovic dropped the first set but she quickly collected herself and dug her heels in. She came out on a tear in the second set and easily took it 6-3 to force a third set tiebreaker.
The breaker was never in doubt as Radovanovic rode the momentum she gained in the second set to a 10-2 victory to advance to the next round.
In the next round Radovanovic faced the University of Incarnate Word's Jelena Dordan, but after Radovanovic had gotten the sweet taste of victory in the first round, she wasn't ready to bow out just yet. In straight sets 7-5, 6-1, she handled Dordan to lock up her trip to the quarterfinals.
Picaut's road wasn't as difficult, having a first-round bye, but she made sure to take care of business in the only match she had on the day.
During the second round, she faced the University of Texas at San Antonio's Diya Menon, who had a three-set battle of her own in the first round, and Picaut took advantage of her own fresh legs never giving Menon a chance.
Only needing straight sets she knocked off Menon 6-2, 6-3 to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals and a chance to move closer to the championship match.
Drew had her a battle in the first round, playing a marathon with UTSA's Laura Cabrera that saw 26 combined points in a third set tiebreaker that finished with Drew coming away with the win 2-6, 6-2, 14-12.
After dropping the first set Drew gritted her teeth and came out on fire to take the second set 6-2, setting up the tiebreaker that wouldn't end.
The two women traded points going back and forth, when late in the breaker Drew finally saw her chance and attacked taking points 13 and 14 to get the win and move onto the second round.
In the second-round Drew once again found herself in a marathon, she dropped the match to PV's Noharika Ramos 6-4, 3-6, 10-6. But she made it a battle, and showed how a senior performs under pressure.
Johnson had a solid win of her own on the day, taking care of her first-round matchup against UIW's Sara Djurdjevic in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. But Johnson was unable get by UTSA's Ivana Ilic, losing in the second round 6-3, 6-3.
Sophomore Milena Achlamov dropped her first-round matchup against UTSA's Charleen Tiwari 3-6, 6-7(8). But she went on to win her first-round back draw match against PV's Stacy Lackey in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 to end her day on a positive note.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles): Continuing their busy day, Picaut and Radovanovic had a first-round bye before taking on PV's grouping of Ruhl/Findley handling the pair 6-4 to move onto the semifinals.
Joining their teammates, but taking a different route were Drew and Johnson. In the first-round they took down the PV doubles team of Aranguiz/Duran Castellanos 6-1.
But in the second round their opponents needed to post a withdrawal and that meant that the Cajuns pair moved into the semifinals joining their teammates.
While the Cajuns pair of junior Carla Ortega and freshman Morgan Forshag lost their first-round matchup to UIW's Djurdjevic/Kareh 6-3, they did win their matchup against PV's Rama/Lackey 7-5 to move on to semifinals in the back draw.
QUOTEWORTHY (Head coach Stephanie Vallejos):
On the Cajuns Day: "Everyone showed good fight today and for our first day of competition, that's exactly how I want to see us kick off the year. I'm excited for Forshag, Picaut and Radovanovic to pick up their first college wins in their first day of competition. For Picaut and Radovanovic to end day one undefeated is especially a big moment for them. We look forward to tomorrow and will continue to fight for more."
NOTEWORTHY: Three Cajuns picked up their first career wins in their first career matches. Picaut and Radovanovic checked both singles and doubles victories off the list, while Forshag took her first career win in doubles; Drew picked up her 30th career win with her first-round victory.
UP NEXT: The Cajuns return to the courts tomorrow to continue their push towards both a singles and doubles title. Follow @RaginCajunsWT on twitter for updates from matches as they happen and a link to the recap at the end of the day.
Contender CrossFit Islander Open (Day One)
September 15, 2017 at Corpus Christi, Texas
Singles (First Round) Main Draw:
Kelly Drew (UL) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSA) 2-6, 6-2, 14-12
Abby Johnson (UL) def. Sara Djurdjevic (UIW) 7-5, 6-4
Dana Radovanovic (UL) def. Constanza Aranguiz (PV) 2-6, 6-3, 10-2
Charleen Tiwari (UTSA) def. Milena Achlamov (UL) 6-3, 7-6(8)
Singles (Second Round) Main Draw:
Floriane Picaut (UL) def. Diya Menon (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
Radovanovic (UL) def. Jelena Dordan (UIW) 7-5, 6-1
Noharika Ramos (PV) def. Drew (UL) 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
Ivana Ilic (UTSA) def. Johnson (UL) 6-3, 6-3
Singles (First Round) Back Draw:
Achlamov (UL) def. Stacy Lackey (PV) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles (First Round) Main Draw:
Drew/Johnson (UL) def. Aranguiz/Duran Castellanos (PV) 6-1
Djurdjevic/Kareh (UIW) def. Ortega/Forshag (UL) 6-3
Doubles (Second Round) Main Draw:
Picaut/Radovanovic (UL) def. Ruhl/Findley (PV) 6-4
Drew/Johnson (UL) def. Boers/Tiwari (UTSA) W/O
Doubles (First Round) Back Draw:
Ortega/Forshag (UL) def. Rama/Lackey (PV) 7-5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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