CONWAY, S.C. – South Alabama women's tennis jumped to a 3-1 lead over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, but the Chats rallied late and won the final three singles matches to win 4-3 over South Alabama.
In doubles action, it was the Jags who struck first, with
Tereza Dejnozkova and
Elysia Pool taking court one 6-3 over Anna Babayan and Jesse Hollins of Coastal.
The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead on the day following a 6-3 win from court three, with Chema Doha Zeghlouli and
Lara van der Merwe beating Nicole Abel and Brooke Rogers.
With South up 1-0, attention turned to singles, where the Jags claimed first sets on three of six courts.
Coastal Carolina evened the score with a win in straight sets on court three, where Jesse Hollins downed
Nikola Novotna 6-1, 6-1.
The Jaguars answered to retake the lead in the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win from
Tereza Dejnozkova over Nicole Abel.
South Alabama extended their lead to 3-1 with a win from
Chems Doha Zeghlouli, beating Cecile Morin 6-3, 6-1.
Coastal Carolina got its comeback started with 7-6, 6-2 win from Kata Foldeak, defeating
Manal Ennaciri.
The Chants evened the match at 3-3 following a 7-6, 6-1 from Anna Babayan over
Elysia Pool.
Coastal Carolina secured the come-back win with a three-set win on court six, where Aida Maria Mitrache defeated
Otoha Aoki 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
Match Results
March 29, 2024
10 am – Conway, S.C.
Singles
1.
Tereza Dejnozkova (USA) def. Nicole Abel (CCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Anna Babayan (CCU) def.
Elysia Pool (USA) 7-6, 6-1
3. Jesse Hollins (CCU) def.
Nikola Novotna (USA) 6-1, 6-1
4. Kata Foldeak (CCU) def.
Manal Ennaciri (USA) 7-6, 6-2
5.
Chems Doha Zeghlouli (USA) def. Cecile Morin (CCU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Aida Maria Mitrache (CCU) def.
Otoha Aoki (USA) 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1.
Elysia Pool/
Tereza Dejnozkova (USA) def. Anna Babayan/Jesse Hollins (CCU) 6-3
2. Kata Foldeak/Cecile Morin (CCU) vs.
Manal Ennaciri/
Nikola Novotna (USA) 5-2, unfinished
3.
Chems Doha Zeghlouli/Lara Van Der Merwe (USA) def. Nicole Abel/Brooke Rogers (CCU) 6-3
Quotable from coach Dr. Jaco Keyser
"Definitely a tough loss to absorb. Always brutal when you blow a 3-0 lead but credit to Coastal for out-competing us. Today's quality of play was definitely sub-par but of greater concern probably is the fact that the opposing team simply out-toughed us and it simply meant more to them. Being a physical blue-collar team that plays with the belief that our work ethic will provide us an edge is something we take pride in as a program. That was not the case today. Hopefully, we have enough substance as a team to bounce back Sunday."
Up Next
South Alabama continues its road swing with a trip to Georgia Southern on Sunday at 9 a.m. CT.
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