It was a 5-2 result for the men's team and a 4-3 result for the women's team
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Loyola University New Orleans men's and women's tennis teams began the Southern States Athletic Conference's Montgomery Round-up on a high note, with each team defeating Florida National on Thursday.
It was a 5-2 result for the men's team (5-6, 1-2 SSAC), now on a two-match winning streak, and a 4-3 result for the women's team (7-7, 2-1 SSAC), which is back to .500 on the season with the win.
Head coach Matthew Llewellyn was "extremely proud of both teams' effort today." He said "the atmosphere we created helped push us through and made a huge difference in both matches. FNU has been playing tough all season with good players. They're a really solid program on the rise. We needed a strong showing today to beat them."
Loyola took the doubles point in both matches, and that proved to be especially important in the women's match. Lucy Carpenter and Fatima Vasquez got their 10th win of the season at No. 1 doubles, followed by Elly Carpenter and Madelynn Chavez claiming the doubles point with a win on Court 3. The Carpenter sisters each also earned singles victories, with Lucy's fifth-straight singles win coming in dominant 6-0, 6-0 fashion.
The women's result was decided in Vasquez's No. 2 singles match, which she battled back to win in three sets after dropping the first, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
"Fatima getting her second SSAC clinch of the season was very impressive," said Llewellyn. "She fought through a tough match which maybe was not her best level. She never stopped believing in herself."
In the men's match, Francisco Arce Vieyra made his return to the court and played well, winning in singles and doubles alongside Herman Aure. At the No. 1 position, Aubin Duchier earned his first singles victory of the season, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, and clinched the match for the Wolf Pack in the process. Loyola got a couple of other singles wins from Remus Hebhang-Balan and Theo Debackere, who came back from being down 5-2 in the third set to win his match. Debackere also won his doubles match, playing alongside Filip Hovland.
"Great to see Aubin push through for the men and clinch the match," Llewellyn said. "He's been very focused this season in helping bring along our young team. To see him come through for his guys was really cool"
Friday's matches in Montgomery feature a battle of ranked opponents, as No. 13 Loyola and No. 12 Middle Georgia are set to square off at 10 a.m. in the women's match. The men's match, scheduled to start at the same time, also features Loyola taking on Middle Georgia, which is ranked 11th.
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.
Men's Results
Loyola – 5
Florida National – 2
Doubles
1. Makela/Lee (FNU) def. Duchier/Hebhang-Balan (LOYNO) 6-1
2. Arce/Aure (LOYNO) def. Rodriguez/Saucedo (FNU) 6-3
3. Debackere/Hovland (LOYNO) def. Gentile/Particelli (FNU) 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. Aubin Duchier (LOYNO) def. Joaquin Rodriguez (FNU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
2. Theo Debackere (LOYNO) def. Luigi Stefanacci (FNU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
3. Francisco Arce Vieyra (LOYNO) def. Guido Gentile (FNU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Umberto Particelli (FNU) def. Herman Aure (LOYNO) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
5. Remus Hebhang-Balan (LOYNO) def. Jerry Makela (FNU) 6-4, 7-5
6. Alvaro Saucedo (FNU) def. Diego Rodriguez Tobar (LOYNO) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 5, 6, 4, 1, 2
Women's Results
Doubles
No. 13 Loyola – 4
Florida National – 3
Doubles
1. #21 L. Carpenter/Vasquez (LOYNO) def. Pera/Brauer (FNU) 6-2
2. Simone/Abad (FNU) def. Briggs/Fereres (LOYNO) 6-3
3. E. Carpenter/Chavez (LOYNO) def. Suwanruk/Jankun 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Lucy Carpenter (LOYNO) def. Sofia Pera (FNU) 6-0, 6-0
2. Fatima Vasquez (LOYNO) def. Vanessa Simone (FNU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Johanna Brauer (FNU) def. Madelynn Chavez (LOYNO) 7-6 (3), 7-6
4. Elly Carpenter (LOYNO) def. Vera Hoekstra (FNU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Pirada Suwanruk (FNU) def. Reilly Briggs (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-3
6. Nadia Abad (FNU) def. Ana Cecilia Castillo (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 4, 2, 3
