MOBILE, Ala. – The Loyola University New Orleans men's and women's tennis teams each had a top 25 opponent on the schedule Thursday, with the Wolf Pack taking on the University of Mobile Rams in the first of four Southern States Athletic Conference matches over the next two weeks.
While the women lost 6-1 to the Rams, whose women's team is ranked No. 20, the men pulled off a 4-3 upset of the No. 25 Rams. It's the first win over a top 25 team in the NAIA for the Wolf Pack men since March 13, 2021, when the team defeated No. 24 Lewis-Clark State.
The Wolf Pack women's team is now 9-4 on the season while the men are back to .500 at 6-6. Both teams are 2-1 in conference play.
While the Pack didn't get any wins in men's doubles, they made up for it in singles, going up 2-1 in the match after straight-sets victories from Samuel Motazed at No. 4 singles and Remus Hebhang-Balan at the No. 3 position. Theo Debackere came back to win in three sets in his match on court 2, while Mobile was able to tie the match with three-set wins at No. 1 and No. 5.
The men's result came down to No. 6 singles, where Herman Aure was matched up with Mobile freshman Luis Perez. Aure won 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the match for the Pack.
In the women's match, Mobile played well in the upset, with Loyola only getting two wins between singles and doubles. Adele Fereres had the one singles victory at the No. 5 spot, 6-2, 6-4, and in doubles, Micaela Ponce and Ariana Salgueiro-Estela had a 6-3 win, the duo's 10th of the year.
The Wolf Pack tennis teams return to Mobile next week for three conference matches at the SSAC Round-up. The Round-up starts with a match against Blue Mountain on March 30, followed by Middle Georgia on March 31 and Florida National on April 1.
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.
Women's Results
No. 11 Loyola – 1
No. 20 Mobile – 6
Doubles
1. Toledo/Garcia (UM) def. L. Carpenter/Vasquez (LOYNO) 6-2
2. Ponce/Salguiero-Estela (LOYNO) def. Mzibri/Wild (UM) 6-3
3. Hrovat/Castello (UM) def. Briggs/Frierson (LOYNO) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Maria Jose Reynaldo Toledo (UM) def. Lucy Carpenter (LOYNO) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
2. Berta Castillo (UM) def. Micaela Ponce (LOYNO) 6-2, 6-2
3. Narjis Mzibri (UM) def. Fatima Vasquez (LOYNO) 6-4, 7-5
4. Sofija Hrovat (UM) def. Ariana Salgueiro-Estela (LOYNO) 7-5, 6-2
5. Adele Fereres (LOYNO) def. Eva Garcia (UM) 6-2, 6-4
6. Luana Wild (UM) def. Leonie Schmidt (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 1
Men's Results
Loyola – 4
No. 25 Mobile – 3
Doubles
1. Okano/Verdu (UM) def. Arce Vieyra/Motazed (LOYNO) 6-3
2. Diloreto/Kambara (UM) def. de Preville/Debackere (LOYNO) 6-3
3. Aure/Hebhang-Balan (LOYNO) vs. Ruiz/Reina 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. Joao Pedro Okano (UM) def. Francisco Javier Arce Vieyra (LOYNO) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Theo Debackere (LOYNO) def. Alex Verdu (UM) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Remus Hebhang-Balan (LOYNO) def. Santiago Diloreto (UM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Samuel Motazed (LOYNO) def. Aoi Kambara (UM) 6-2, 6-4
5. Sergio Ruiz (UM) def. Tiger Cheung (LOYNO) 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-0
6. Herman Aure (LOYNO) def. Luis Perez (UM) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 2, 1, 6
