MOBILE, Ala. - The University of South Alabama women’s tennis team snapped a three-match losing streak with a 5-2 win over New Orleans Wednesday at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
The Jaguars remained unbeaten in its history against the Privateers and improved to 5-3 in their spring campaign, while UNO fell to 1-6 overall.
“It was just good to get a win,” USA head coach Jaco Keyser. “We had a tough little stretch for a while so we had to gain some momentum and get that winning feeling back again.”
South Alabama’s duo of freshman Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) and sophomore Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) defeated Paula Jimenez and Victoria Svensson 8-3 on the No. 3 court. Sophomores Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) and Ramona Ghermani (Bad Wimpfen, Germany) secured the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Marta Sans and Fanny Benincasa at No. 2.
In singles action, USA took the first two singles points and added to their 1-0 lead, but UNO responded with a win at the No. 1 spot.
Martin defeated Benincasa 6-2, 6-0 on the No. 4 court, followed by sophomore Emily Newton’s (Dothan, Ala.) 6-2, 6-1 win over Soledad Calderon at No. 3. Sans edged freshman Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 at the No. 1 flight.
“As a team I thought we played a lot more structured and had better defense,” said Keyser. “We didn’t play our best and we didn’t play great tennis at all. We just out toughed them.”
Krachok clinched the win for the Jaguars with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Kristina Martic at No. 2.
Papke topped Jimenez 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) on the No. 5 court. Svensson claimed the last point for the Privateers with a 6-3, 3-6 (10-2) victory over freshman Sibela Gajer (Zagreb, Croatia) at the No. 6 court.
“I think we were a little more patient inside the points today,” said Keyser. “We stopped trying to force the action so much and we just sat back and absorbed our opponents play, but basically we just had a few better practices this week and that showed up in the match.”
The Jaguars are back in action when they take on Oral Roberts Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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