Entering as the 12th seed in the tournament, the Pack only surrendered one match in an 8-1 win over SCAD Atlanta
MOBILE, Ala. – Loyola University New Orleans is advancing to the second round at the 2019 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, earning an 8-1 win on Tuesday over No. 13 SCAD Atlanta.
"That's what college tennis is all about," said assistant coach Eduardo Garcia. "Our girls came out today and simply refused to lose. This was an entire team effort and every single one of our girls left their hearts on the court today and played with so much passion."
The No. 12 seed in the bracket, the Wolf Pack (12-9) opened up their first-ever tournament appearance with a strong showing in doubles play. Nadja Ochsner and Chandler Harmon, who have been a strong doubles pairing all season long, won 8-6 on court three to improve to 13-4 on the season. Manuela Alban and Catherine Jordan followed, also claiming an 8-6 win on court two. Koral Martinez and Arianna Pepper secured the third doubles point with an 8-6 victory at the No. 1 position to put Loyola up 3-0 heading into singles.
"They were a little nervous at first while playing doubles," said Garcia. "With all three courts tied 6-6, but our girls stepped it up to give us a 3-0 lead. We knew that even though we were up 3-0, the match could still go either way, but our girls just brought the fire from the first point in singles and kept it going."
Now a two-time All-SSAC selection, Alban began singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 position. Pepper then clinched the match for the Wolf Pack on court three, winning 6-1, 6-3. The Bees claimed their only point of the match in a win on court one, but the Pack didn't surrender any sets in the remaining matches, with Harmon, Ochsner, and Gabrielle Terranova all earning victories.
"I couldn't be prouder of this team," Garcia said. "We are very excited to go into the Sweet 16 and keep showing that the Wolf Pack are here to compete no matter what."
Loyola will face No. 5 SCAD Savannah at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the second round of the 2019 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
Results
No. 14 Loyola – 8
No. 13 SCAD Atlanta – 1
Doubles
1. Martinez/Pepper (LOY) vs. De Guzman/Kejriwal (SCAD) 8-6
2. Alban/Jordan (LOY) vs. Guerra/Amaro (SCAD) 8-6
3. Harmon/Ochsner (LOY) def. Homan/Hull (SCAD) 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Simran Kejriwal (SCAD) def. Koral Martinez (LOY) 6-2, 6-0
2. Manuela Alban (LOY) def. Katrina De Guzman (SCAD) 6-2, 6-2
3. Arianna Pepper (LOY) def. Sofia Guerra (SCAD) 6-4, 6-4
4. Chandler Harmon (LOY) def. Emilia Smythe (SCAD) 6-1, 6-1
5. Nadja Ochsner (LOY) def. Vivian Amaro (SCAD) 7-5, 7-5
6. Gabrielle Terranova (LOY) def. Madelyn Homan (SCAD) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6
