The Wolf Pack competed well but fell short against Mobile, which is ranked in the NAIA on both sides.
NEW ORLEANS - The Loyola University New Orleans men's and women's tennis teams faced off against Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) opponent University of Mobile at home in City Park on Friday afternoon.
It was a tough day for both Wolf Pack squads, as the Rams came into the day's matchup ranked on both sides.
"I knew the women's match was going to be close," said head coach Kyle Russell. "We needed to win a couple of the doubles matches to put ourselves in a little better position to win. We didn't do that, but I'm happy with the way we came back and fought against a good team."
The duo of Margaret Adams (JR/Fairhope, Ala.) and Nadja Ochsner (SO/Stein, Switzerland) scored an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles for the first point of the day as the Pack tied the team score at 1-1. Arianna Pepper (SO/Arequipa, Peru) and Manuela Alban (FR/Quito, Ecuador ) were just edged out on court two, however, as the Rams led 2-1 heading into singles play.
In singles, Pepper bounced back to lead off with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3 to tie the score at 2-2. After a Mobile win on court five, the Pack tied it once again, as Ochsner picked up her second win of the day to the tune of 6-1, 6-0 on court four. Gabrielle Terranova (FR/Metairie, La.) gave Loyola the lead with a 6-1, 6-0 victory on court six, but the Rams made the score tied once again with a win at No. 2.
The women's match came down to a close three-set match on court one, with Koral Martinez (JR/Lajas, Puerto Rico) falling 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 as the rams took a 5-4 victory.
"It's disappointing that we didn't come out with a victory, said Russell, "but at the same time, I think that we competed and fought from the first point to the last."
Loyola's women's team moves to 10-7 on the season and 2-4 in SSAC play. Mobile improves to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in conference.
On the men's side, Loyola was faced with a tough task, taking on Mobile's NAIA seventh-ranked squad. The Wolf Pack were able to take one of the three doubles points, as the tandem of Sean Presti (JR/Lesigny, France) and Tiger Cheung (FR/Hong Kong), who have been consistently solid at the No. 2 spot this season, closed out doubles play today with an 8-6 win.
"[Mobile] is just really strong," remarked Russell. "I thought that our guys actually competed very well. [Mobile is] seventh in the country, and they're ranked that high for a reason. We played incredible doubles, and I was happy that we got one of the doubles points."
The Rams would emerge victorious on every court in singles, however, as they took an 8-1 victory.
"I thought we could maybe sneak out a singles win or two," Russell said, "and we were close to doing that. But at the end of the day, it was really more about how they competed, and that was going to be the measuring stick for the guys today. I think this was actually very positive moving forward."
Loyola's men's team drops to 11-5 on the season, and 4-3 in conference. The Rams now are 16-1 overall and 7-0 in SSAC matches.
The next match for Loyola's men's team is against NCAA DI school Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La., on April 8 at 10:30 a.m. The match is making up the previously scheduled match that was rained out on Feb. 3.
The Wolf Pack women's team will face Lewis and Clark College in the last regular season match in a men's and women's doubleheader at the University of New Orleans on April 3 at 3 p.m.
You can keep up with the Pack this season by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
Men's Tennis
Loyola - 1
No. 7 Mobile - 8
Doubles
1. Mark Simons/Tim Bühler (UM) def. Ernesto de Diego (SR/Panama City, Panama)/Alexander DePascual (JR/Metairie, La.) (LOYNO) 8-2
2. Sean Presti/Tiger Cheung (LOYNO) def. Illya Filanchuk/Radek Danis (UM) 8-6
3. Jonah Jakubec/Boris Klingebiel (UM) def. Galileo Cabrales (SO/San Salvador, El Salvador)/Joseph Short (FR/Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) (LOYNO) 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. Boris Klingebiel (UM) def. Galileo Cabrales (LOYNO) 6-4, 6-3
2. Mark Simons (UM) def. Sean Presti (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-0
3. Illya Filanchuk (UM) def. Tiger Cheung (LOYNO) 6-4. 7-5
4. Tim Bühler (UM) def. Ernesto de Diego (LOYNO) 6-2, 6-0
5. Javier Ahumada (UM) def. Alexander DePascual (LOYNO) 6-2, 7-6(4)
6. Radek Danis (UM) def. Ernesto Telles (SO/El Salvador, San Salvador) (LOYNO) 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5
Women's Tennis
Loyola - 4
No. 22 Mobile - 5
Doubles
1. Mariah Plauth/Sina Marchione (UM) def. Koral Martinez/Miranda Cano (SO/Weston, Fla.) (LOYNO) 8-1
2. Emily Chang/Marina Capitani (UM) def. Arianna Pepper/Manuela Alban (LOYNO) 9-7
3. Margaret Adams/Nadja Ochsner (LOYNO) def. Claire Travis/Thamires Kasabkojian (UM) 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. Mariah Plauth (UM) def. Koral Martinez (LOYNO) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
2. Emily Chang (UM) def. Manuela Alban (LOYNO) 6-4, 7-5
3. Arianna Pepper (LOYNO) def. Marina Capitani (UM) 6-1, 6-0
4. Nadja Ochsner (LOYNO) def. Claire Travis (UM) 6-1, 6-0
5. Sina Marchione (UM) def. Miranda Cano (LOYNO) 6-0, 6-1
6. Gabrielle Terranova (LOYNO) def. Thamires Kasabkojian (UM) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 5, 4, 6, 2, 1
