Down 4-2, the women rebounded with three straight singles victories for their 10th win on the season
MOBILE, Ala. – Each taking on a top-ranked Mobile squad, the No. 18 Loyola women's tennis team took down the 11th-ranked Rams 5-4, while the men fell in their match to No. 15 Mobile 5-0 Sunday afternoon.
"It was another great win for our women's team today," said assistant coach Eduardo Garcia. "We were playing in some tough conditions with a lot of wind, but our girls were mentally tough and kept fighting until the end to get the win."
The Wolf Pack women's tennis team (10-7, 4-1 SSAC) faced a tough opening task in doubles against the Rams (8-4, 3-2 SSAC), but pulled out wins on courts two and three. Manuela Alban and Catherine Jordan picked up an 8-3 victory on court two, with the duo of Chandler Harmon and Nadja Ochsner giving Loyola the advantage on an 8-5 win.
The Pack's lead from doubles would slowly disappear in singles however, with Mobile winning the first three courts to go out in front 4-2. On court two, Alban nearly swept her opponent to make it a one-point match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory, with Ochsner drawing the score even at four moments later on court five. On the final court to finish up, court six, Gabrielle Terranova claimed the first set by a score of 6-0, before clinching the Wolf Pack victory on a 6-4 set-two win.
"In doubles, we had some solid performances on courts two and three that lead us to a 2-1 lead heading into singles," said Garcia. "Nadja played phenomenal tennis to tie the match at four, and it all came down to Gabby's court. She played some huge points to get one of the best wins of her career for the Pack."
Today was the fourth ranked-win for the Wolf Pack women's tennis team this season, as they've taken down No. 20 Campbellsville, No. 23 Lewis-Clark State, No. 9 LSU-Alexandria and now No. 11 Mobile.
In the men's match, the Wolf Pack (6-10, 3-2 SSAC) came out of the gate down 3-0 after the Rams (11-2, 4-1 SSAC) swept the doubles matches. After falling behind 4-0 after the first singles match, Galileo Cabrales nearly climbed his way back in to his match at court two against the 23rd-ranked singles player in the NAIA. The junior would ultimately fall in the second set 7-5, as Mobile clinched the team win. At court one, Tiger Cheung took his first set, while Samuel Marin led 1-6, 6-3, 3-0 at court three before each match was called off.
"I thought today was one of the best examples of a 'never say die attitude' from the guys," said head coach Kyle Russell. "Although we were down 3-0 after doubles, they all decided that they were going to bring it. I could hear Galo from across the courts as he mounted a comeback, and Sam completely flipped the script on his singles match while Tiger won the first set at court one."
The Loyola tennis teams will return to New Orleans for their final matches of the regular season, each hosting a top-10 William Carey squad at the City Park Tennis Courts Monday, April 15 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 Results
Loyola (RV) – 0
No. 15 Mobile – 5
Doubles
1. No. 3 Klingebiel/Simons (MOB) def. Cheung/Short (LOY) 8-2
2. Cirenza/Filanchuk (MOB) def. Cabrales/Marin (LOY) 8-3
3. Evangelista/Resende (MOB) def. Saenz/Telles (LOY) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Tiger Cheung (LOY) vs. No. 47 Boris Klingebiel (MOB) 6-3, 2-5 DNF
2. No. 23 Mark Simons (MOB) def. Galileo Cabrales (LOY) 6-0, 7-5
3. Samuel Marin (LOY) vs. Illya Filanchuk (MOB) 1-6, 6-3, 3-0 DNF
4. Guido Evangelista (MOB) def. Alexander DePascual (LOY) 6-1, 6-2
5. Joseph Short (LOY) vs. Luca Cirenza (MOB) 2-8 DNF
6. Ernesto Telles (LOY) vs. Felipe Resende (MOB) 6-8 DNF
Order of finish: 4, 2
Women's Results
No. 18 Loyola – 5
No. 11 Mobile – 4
Doubles
1. No. 22 Chang/Marchione (MOB) def. K. Martinez/Pepper (LOY) 8-3
2. Alban/Jordan (LOY) def. Capitani/Travis (MOB) 8-3
3. Harmon/Ochsner (LOY) def. Pyrkh/Toledo (MOB) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 13 Emily Chang (MOB) def. Koral Martinez (LOY) 6-0, 6-1
2. Manuela Alban (LOY) def. Marina Capitani (MOB) 6-1, 6-1
3. Maria Toledo (MOB) def. Arianna Pepper (LOY) 6-0, 6-1
4. Sina Marchione (MOB) def. Chandler Harmon (LOY) 6-1, 6-3
5. Nadja Ochsner (LOY) def. Yaroslava Pyrkh (MOB) 6-0, 6-1
6. Gabrielle Terranova (LOY) def. Claire Travis (MOB) 6-0, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6
