No. 9 Loyola rallies to defeat No. 18 Dillard

NEW ORLEANS – In the team's first match since February 19, the No. 9 Loyola Wolf Pack returned to the court with another ranked NAIA matchup early Thursday, traveling across town to take on the No. 18 Dillard Bleu Devils. 

Loyola lost the doubles point and two of the first three singles matches to go down 3-1, but the Wolf Pack rallied to win three straight singles matches and earn a 4-3 match win. The Pack's record now stands at 2-4 this season heading into conference play. 

Adele Fereres and Micaela Ponce teamed up for their second straight win at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, but the Bleu Devils won on the other two courts to claim the doubles point. Fereres had a strong start to singles as well, winning 6-1, 6-3 on court 3 to bring her season record to 3-0. Dillard, however, followed with victories on courts 1 and 5 to create scoreboard pressure. 

Avery Frierson, Presha Shanthamoorthi and Sofia Amodu all started singles with little margin for error, as the Pack trailed 3-1 when their matches began. Frierson (6-4, 6-0) and Amodu (7-5, 6-3) both prevailed in straight sets, so the result came down to Shanthamoorthi on court 4. The freshman dropped the opening set 7-5 before bouncing back 6-3, 6-4 in the next two to clinch the match for Loyola. 

Next up for the Loyola women is the SSAC Roundup, three matches held in Montgomery, Alabama. Next week kicks off with Blue Mountain Christian on Thursday, March 19. The Wolf Pack will then face Abraham Baldwin on March 20 before closing out the weekend with Tennessee Southern on March 21. 

Head Coach Matt Llewellyn

"Our women were impressive in a comeback win today. Being down 1-3, we could've used every excuse available to lose this match but we didn't. We kept fighting and supporting each other. It took every player on and off the court to get this win. We put our core values on display which was fun to experience. It was a culture win today.

We had many players step up when we needed them. Our two freshmen played like vets in singles in a challenging environment. We needed them to win in singles or we'd lose the match. They came through for their team and learned so much.

I'm so proud of our women. We've had a tough schedule and are still learning about who we are and what we can be. We haven't lost confidence in ourselves and are excited for what's ahead."

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Results

No. 9 Loyola – 4

No. 18 Dillard – 3

Doubles
1. Ponce/Fereres (LOYNO) def. Y. Chen/Peres (DU) 6-1 
2. Fukushima/W. Chen (DU) def. Amodu/Shanthamoorthi (LOYNO) 6-2
3. Homma/Pereira (DU) def. Frierson/Harris (LOYNO) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles
1. Weichiao Chen (DU) def. #45 Micaela Ponce (LOYNO) 6-1, 6-4
2. Avery Frierson (LOYNO) def. Nanami Fukushima (DU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Adele Fereres (LOYNO) def. Yiran Chen (DU) 6-1, 6-3
4. #42 Presha Shanthamoorthi (LOYNO) def. Haruka Homma (DU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
5. Gia Pereira (DU) def. Avrora Volkova (LOYNO) 1-6, 3-6
6. Sofia Amodu (LOYNO) def. Giulia Peres (DU) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 2, 6, 4