LAFAYETTE, La. – After dropping the doubles point to Louisiana, the University of South Alabama women's tennis team won four singles matches to defeat the Ragin' Cajuns 4-2 Thursday at the Cajun Courts.
DOUBLES
-Junior Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) and freshman Yu Fujioka (Funabashi, Japan) fell to Abby Johnson and Elena Sava 6-3 at No. 1 to start doubles.
-Freshmen Nikola Kohoutova (Kralupy Nad Vltavou) and Maxine Palmen (Sittard, Netherlands) bounced back with a 6-4 victory over Kelly Drew and Marina Garcia on court 3.
-Louisiana secured the doubles point when Floriane Picaut and Dana Radoanovic defeated juniors Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) and Patricia Martins (Lisbon, Portugal)
SINGLES
-To start singles, Fujioka dropped Sava 7-5, 6-0 on court 3, and Palmen gave the Jags a 2-1 lead by defeating Radovanovic 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4.
-The Ragin' Cajuns tied the match at 2-2 when Drew won 7-6 (8-7), 6-4 against No. 90 Stiteler on court 1.
-Martins rallied to beat Johnson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 and Zolotareva clinched the win for USA with a 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4 victory over Picaut.
NOTES
-The win marks the fourth straight for the Jaguars, and it puts South Alabama at 9-1 on the year.
-Fujioka and Martins remain undefeated in singles at 9-0 and 5-0, respectively.
-Stiteler's loss in singles was her first of the spring season.
-This was the eighth straight victory for the Jags over Louisiana.
-Up next for USA is a home match against Texas-San Antonio on March 11 at 11 a.m.
QUOTES FROM ASSISTANT COACH GRUINDELINGH
"The girls fought a really tough match today. It feels good to win a close match like this. All the girls competed at the highest level, which makes it hard for any team to beat us. Louisiana came out big with the doubles point, but the girls played with high energy and applied what we did in practice. This match could've gone either way, but I can honestly say that our fitness level is the reason we outcompeted them today. It will be a very exciting season ahead of us."
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).
Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub
—USA—
