MOBILE, Ala. – In 2019, SCAD Savannah ended the Loyola Wolf Pack women's tennis season. Things were different when they met again Wednesday in the 2024 NAIA National Championship, as the ninth-seeded Wolf Pack prevailed 4-2 to eliminate the Bees and advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time.
Loyola is now 12-7 on the season after the win over the Bees, who were ranked No. 4 nationally but had the eighth seed in the tournament. Of the 12 wins this spring, 11 have come against NAIA teams, a new record for the Pack. Four of those wins have come against top 25 ranked teams, and three were against teams ranked inside the top 10.
In the quarterfinal matchup, the Wolf Pack will take on the defending champions, No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett, on Thursday at 1 p.m. Gwinnett ended the Pack's season last year in the second round of the national tournament.
The Bees swept court 2 doubles in Wednesday's match, but Loyola fought well on the other two courts. Micaela Ponce and Fatima Vasquez teamed up for their first win of the season at No. 1 doubles, a strong 6-2 effort over the NAIA's No. 38-ranked doubles team. To clinch the doubles point for the Pack, Adele Fereres and Chloe Henderson were tied 4-4 on court 3, then won a game on Fereres's serve and broke their opponents to earn a 6-4 result.
SCAD took an early 2-1 lead during singles play after winning in straight sets on courts 4 and 5, but Loyola needed just three singles wins to take the match, and the Pack's three ranked singles players all played well on the top three courts.
Henderson got the first singles point for the Pack, a solid 6-1, 6-2 win on court 3 to tie the match 2-2. Ponce was next, also winning in straight sets on court 2 (6-3, 6-4) to give the Pack a 3-2 lead in the match. At No. 1 singles, Lucy Carpenter won her first set 6-3 but lost the second 6-2, setting up a deciding third. Carpenter's third set was tied at 4-4, and she closed out the last two games to take the set and clinch the match for the Maroon and Gold.
The NAIA's No. 6 overall singles player, Carpenter now has a 14-3 record at No. 1 singles this season, including 12-1 against NAIA competition. Henderson, who's ranked No. 61, is tied for the team high in singles wins with a 14-5 overall record this year. Ponce, ranked No. 53, is close to double digits in the win column, as she has a 9-7 record at No. 2 singles.
"Great win for the women and our program. It was very fitting to see the greatest player in program history clinch the biggest win in program history. We're looking forward to playing the same team that took us out last year tomorrow. We were hoping to get them in the draw, and we're excited to see what we can do against them tomorrow.
"Overall, I'm proud of our efforts today. SCAD played tough. They're a fair program, and it was a great match. Hopefully we have more good matches with them in the future."
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Results
No. 8 Loyola – 4
No. 4 SCAD Savannah – 2
Doubles
1. Ponce/Vasquez (LOYNO) def. #38 Llompart/Piccoliori (SCAD) 6-2
2. Ragona/Sukkanha (SCAD) def. E. Carpenter/L. Carpenter (LOYNO) 6-0
3. A. Fereres/Henderson (LOYNO) def. Konrad/Xiang (SCAD) 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. #6 Lucy Carpenter (LOYNO) vs. #51 Alessia Piccoliori (SCAD) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
2. #53 Micaela Ponce (LOYNO) def. #46 Priya Sukkanha (SCAD) 6-3, 6-4
3. #61 Chloe Henderson (LOYNO) def. Cherry Xiang (SCAD) 6-1, 6-2
4. Sofia Ragona (SCAD) def. Avrora Volkova (LOYNO) 6-2, 6-2
5. Adele Fereres (LOYNO) #57 Francina Puig Llompart (SCAD) 6-0, 6-2
6. Fatima Vasquez (LOYNO) vs. Lisa Konrad (SCAD) 4-6, 7-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
