The women's team end their season with a record of 1-17, while the men's team, 8-12, will compete in the SSAC Tournament this weekend, April 22-23.
(New Orleans, La.)- The Loyola University New Orleans tennis teams took on Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) rival University of Mobile in the regular season finale on Tuesday.
The women's team dropped their final match of the season, 8-1. The men's program will be competing in the SSAC Tournament, but ended the regular season with a tough loss, 6-3.
The women's team exceeded expectations against a nationally ranked, No. 24, opponent as they have done many times this season.
Alexa Mancuso (JR/Leawood, Kan.) and Lauren Rosales (JR/San Antonio, Texas) played a thrilling match for their first doubles victory of the season, and the only match win for the Wolf Pack on the day. Ahead 7-4, the duo allowed their opponent to win four consecutive sets to go down 8-7. They won their eighth set to force a tiebreak in the No. 1 doubles match. Mancuso and Rosales both made impressive plays to win the tiebreak, 7-5. Rosales, who was battling an injury she suffered last week, was unable to play her singles match and lost by default.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Margaret Adams (FR/Fairhope, Ala.) and Isabel Junqueira were playing well before Junqueira suffered an ankle injury and was unable to return. Junquiera lost her singles match by default due to the injury.
Although, Menley Long (FR/Brookland, Arkansas) and Anna Katherine Brunini (FR/Madison, Miss.) dropped their match, they both played extremely well and made some remarkable plays.
It was a tough matchup for Adams in the No.1 singles position, and, despite a tremendous effort, lost in straight sets. Mancuso won a game in the first set, but eventually lost the match in straight sets.
Brunini, a member of the Wolf Pack volleyball team, won a game, but lost the match in straight sets. Long, a dual sport athlete like Brunini, lost in straight sets in just her third match of the season.
The men's team faced off with the No.17-ranked team in the NAIA in their regular season finale.
Steven Le (JR/Tustin, Calif.) and Ernesto de Diego (SO/Panama City, Panama) also played a thrilling No. 1 match. They went down early, but rallied to force a tiebreak. In the emotionally charged tiebreak, the formidable duo came away with the victory.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Maxime Rumeau (FR/Aix en Provence, France) and Sean Presti (FR/Lesigny, France) fell 8-3, while David Mayhall (SR/Mobile, Ala.) and Federico Mercado (JR/Miami, Fla.) lost their gritty match, 8-5.
Le and Rumeau both added a point to the win column for the Wolf Pack in singles play. Le played on center stage, as he was in the last match, and he did not disappoint. After losing the first set, he rallied to win the final set, before securing the win with a phenomenal tiebreak.
Rumeau played with a lot of energy in a heated No. 2 match. He was dominant and electric, bringing praise from his peers, in a straight sets victory, 6-3, 6-2.
Diego, Presti, Mercado, and Mayhall, the team's lone senior, all played tremendously, but fell in straight sets.
That was the season finale for the women's team and they end the year with an overall record of 1-17. The men's team, 8-12, will compete in the SSAC Tournament on April 22-23 in Montgomery, Alabama.
