THIBODAUX, La. – After earning a top-10 NAIA win on Thursday, the Loyola Wolf Pack women's tennis team secured another big victory on Saturday, taking down NCAA Division-I program Nicholls on the road. Loyola continues to make history, as this was the first win over a D-I program in the history of the program, which started in 2009.
The Wolf Pack's record this season is now 9-6 heading into the SSAC Championship tournament, which begins on April 24. The Pack will be the second seed in the tournament after going 6-1 in conference matches.
To start the match Saturday, Loyola toughed out two close 7-6 victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 courts, with both going to tiebreaks. Elly Carpenter and Lucy Carpenter won on court 2, and Ariana Salgueiro-Estela and Micaela Ponce were back together on court 1 to capture the doubles point. Both tiebreaks were won 7-4.
Nicholls bounced back in singles, taking matches on courts 2, 4, and 6. But the Pack continued to fight back, with Lucy Carpenter giving Loyola its first singles win, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) on court 1. One of the best in the NAIA, Carpenter's record at No. 1 singles is 12-3 this season, only one fewer victory than her 13-6 singles record last year.
Chloe Henderson became the third different Wolf Pack player to reach double digit wins this season, tying the match with her win on court 3. She dropped the first set 6-4, but dominated the next two 6-1, 6-1 to take the match.
The result was decided on court 5, where Adele Fereres also lost the first set but made a comeback. Second on the team in wins this year with an 11-3 record, Fereres closed out strong to win 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and clinch the match.
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Results
No. 10 Loyola – 4
Nicholls – 3
Doubles
1. Ponce/Salgueiro-Estela (LOYNO) def. Cruz/Bouygues (NICH) 7-6 (7-4)
2. E. Carpenter/L. Carpenter (LOYNO) def. Inna/Safarova (NICH) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Hassan/Dusele (NICH) def. A. Fereres/Henderson (LOYNO) 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #11 Lucy Carpenter (LOYNO) def. Liu QianYu (NICH) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Carla Bouygues (NICH) def. Micaela Ponce (LOYNO) 6-3, 6-4
3. Chloe Henderson (LOYNO) def. Sophia Safarova (NICH) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Aada Inna (NICH) def. Avrora Volkova (LOYNO) 6-0, 6-1
5. Adele Fereres (LOYNO) def. Lea Grinberg (NICH) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
6. Constanza Cruz (NICH) def. Isabella Leaño (WCU) 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 5
