Tennis: Men Win Fourth Match; Women Win First SBC Match, Then Take ULM To The Wire
Men’s Tennis: Cajuns Beat Alcorn State, Win Fourth Straight Match
LAFAYETTE – Without dropping a match in singles, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis team dominated the Alcorn State Braves, winning 7-0, to win their fourth straight match and improve to 15-8, adding to their Sun Belt Conference best record Sunday afternoon at Cajun Courts.
Louisiana’s all-time record against Alcorn State improved to 14-0, as the Cajuns have yet to lose a match to the Braves. As for Alcorn State their record drops to 4-12 on the season.
Junior Arthur Libaud clinched things at No. 3 with a straight set win, and he was joined across the board by senior Vlad Kramarov (No. 4), sophomores Elio Lago (No. 2), Pearse Dolan (No. 5), Jamie Fraser (No.6) and freshman Nico Sojka (No. 1) in getting wins for the Cajuns in singles.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles): Louisiana got the day started by cruising through the doubles point, and it started with a win at No. 2 from Kramarov and Lago who took down the Alcorn State pairing of Kilumets and Stojanovski 6-1. Louisiana then wrapped up the doubles point with a win at No. 3 from Libaud and Fraser who’s 6-3 win took down the Braves’ duo of Rocha and Matas, 6-3.
The Cajuns did drop the match at No. 1 when Dolan and Gilheany dropped their match to the Alcorn State pairing of Gupta and Parat, 6-4, but the loss had no effect on the Cajuns 1-0 lead they had already locked up heading into singles play.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles): The Cajuns kept on rolling through the Braves in singles and the first win in singles came at No. 2 when Lago took down Stojan Stojanovski in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1 to put the Cajuns up 2-0. It was after that match that the dominos really started to fall for the Cajuns, and Kramarov’s win at No. 4 against Ivan Matas, 6-1, 6-1 and Libaud’s clincher at No. 3 against Johnatan, 6-2, 6-1 all came one right after another.
Fraser finished off his match at No. 6 almost immediately after Libaud’s clincher, when he took down Nuno Rocha in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1 and he was joined by Dolan in the win the column after that. Dolan, who had to wrestle control of his match during the first set, cruised through the second set to take his match against Suyash Gupta, 6-4, 6-2, to put the Cajuns up 6-0.
The match at No. 1 turned out to be the best on the day, but in the end Sojka held off Kert Kilumets to win in a third set 10-point super breaker to take the final match of the day, 7-5, 2-6, 10-7. After fighting hard to win the first set, Sojka dropped the second set to set up the super breaker. But it was in that breaker, with the score at 8-7, that Sojka showed how far he’s come this season as the young freshman coolly won the final three points of the breaker to wrap up the 7-0 win for the Cajuns.
NOTEWORTHY: Lago just keeps rolling as today’s win was his 11th straight win and his record sits at a team best 14-6; Libaud won his fifth straight match and it pushes his spring record over the .500 mark and that now sits at 10-9; Sojka improved to 9-4 on the season; Dolan (13-4) and Fraser (8-10) each won their third straight match; Kramarov’s win improved his record to 13-8.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: The Cajuns return to Cajun Courts for their final two home matches of the season when they host Prairie View A&M in a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 30
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter (@RaginCajunsMT), Instagram (ragincajunsMT) and snapchat (ragincajunsmt) for updates during the rest of the season, links to live stats and a link to the recap following the day’s action.
Louisiana 7, Alcorn State 0
March 25, 2018 at Lafayette, La.
(Cajun Courts)
Doubles:
1.) Dolan/Gilheany (LA) vs. Gupta/Parat (ALCN)
2.) Kramarov/Lago (LA) def. Kilumets/Stojanovski (ALCN) 6-1
3.) Libaud/Fraser (LA) def. Rocha/Matas (ALCN) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
Singles:
1.) Nico Sojka (LA) def. Kert Kilumets (ALCN) 7-5, 2-6, 10-7
2.) Elio Lago (LA) def. Stojan Stojanovski (ALCN) 6-1, 6-1
3.) Arthur Libaud (LA) def. Johnatan Parat (ALCN) 6-2, 6-1
4.) Vlad Kramarov (LA) def. Ivan Matas (ALCN) 6-1, 6-1
5.) Pearse Dolan (LA) def. Suyash Gupta (ALCN) 6-4, 6-2
6.) Jamie Fraser (LA) def. Nuno Rocha (ALCN) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3*, 6, 5, 1
Team Records:
Louisiana: 15-8
Alcorn State: 4-12
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Louisiana Takes ULM To The Wire In Loss At Monroe
MONROE, La. – It came down to the wire, but the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s tennis team came out on the short end of their match with the ULM Warhawks, losing 4-3 on Sunday at Raymond Heard Stadium.
The match was sprinkled with several rain delays, the first of which pushed back the start time of the match to 12:30 p.m., and the second of which occurred between the doubles and singles part of the match. Louisiana’s loss drops their record to 11-7, while ULM’s record improves to 8-5 and it’s their fourth win in their last five matches.
Senior Abby Johnson (No. 5) and sophomore Marina Rodriguez Garcia (No. 6) each got wins in singles while the freshmen duo of Floriane Picaut and Dana Radovanovic along with the Cajuns pairing of senior Kelly Drew and Garcia added wins in doubles.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles): The Cajuns would take the doubles point, but ULM got things started by taking the first match when the Warhawks pairing of Snita and Andrei beat the Louisiana senior duo of Johnson and Elena Sava, 6-0.
But the Cajuns snagged the next two matches to get the doubles point and start things with a 1-0 lead. It started when Drew and Garcia beat the Warhawks pairing of Grigoriu and Koen, 6-4. Things then came down to the final match in doubles, when Picaut and Radovanovic fought off the Warhawks duo of Radu and Silwanowicz winning 7-6 (7-3).
HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles): ULM bounced right back and would take the next three matches starting at No. 3 when Karolina Silwanowicz beat Louisiana’s Sava, 6-4, 6-0. Then at No.1 Stefana Andrei beat Drew in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 and ULM followed that up with another win at No. 2 when Picaut fell to ULM’s Snita 6-3, 6-1 to put the Warhawks up 3-1.
But the Cajuns weren’t ready to go down that easily, and Louisiana flipped things by winning the next two matches to tie it up at 3-3.
The first win for the Cajuns came at No. 5 when Johnson beat Bianca Koen in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Louisiana then tied things up when Garcia won at No. 6 over Madalina Grigoriu in a three-set battle, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Garcia showed her girt and unwillingness to quit when she came storming back after dropping the first set.
With the score tied up at 3-3, things then came down to the remaining match between Radovanovic and ULM’s Teodora Radu at No. 4. Radu would pull out the win in another three-set marathon, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. And it meant that the Warhawks would come away with the 4-3 win, despite the Cajuns best efforts to come away victorious.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana returns to Cajun Courts for one final time on Saturday, Mar. 31 for a Senior Day doubleheader when they host Prairie View A&M (9 a.m.) and Alcorn State (1 p.m.).
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter @RaginCajunsWT for updates during the match, links to any live stats provided and the recap following the day’s action.
ULM 4, Louisiana 3
March 25, 2018 at Monroe, La.
(Raymond Heard Stadium)
Doubles:
1.) Snita/Andrei (ULM) def. Johnson/Sava (LA) 6-0
2.) Picaut/Radovanovic (LA) def. Radu/Silwanowicz (ULM) 7-6 (3)
3.) Drew/Garcia (LA) def. Grigoriu/Koen (ULM) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*
Singles:
1.) Stefana Andrei (ULM) def. Kelly Drew (LA) 6-1, 6-3
2.) Karolina Snita (ULM) def. Floriane Picaut (LA) 6-3, 6-1
3.) Karolina Silwanowicz (ULM) def. Elena Sava (LA) 6-4, 6-0
4.) Teodora Radu (ULM) def. Dana Radovanovic (LA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
5.) Abby Johnson (LA) def. Bianca Koen (ULM) 6-3, 6-4
6.) Marina Rodriguez Garcia (LA) def. Madalina Grigoriu (ULM) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 4*
Team Records:
Louisiana: 11-7
ULM: 8-5
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Ragin’ Cajuns Dominate Texas State To Snag First SBC Win
MONROE, La. – Sophomore Marina Rodriguez Garcia got her fourth clinching win of the season to lock up the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s tennis team dominating win against the Texas State Bobcats, 4-1, to snag their first win against a Sun Belt Conference foe this season at Raymond Heard Stadium.
The win, Louisiana’s third in their last four, improves the Cajuns record to 11-6, while it drops the Bobcats to 4-10. It also snaps a two-match losing streak, going back to last season, for the Cajuns against the Bobcats.
Garcia got her clinching win at No. 6, while freshmen Floriane Picaut (No. 2) and Dana Radovanovic (No. 4) grabbed wins of their own in singles. While in doubles Picaut and Radovanovic joined senior Kelly Drew and Garcia in the winner’s circle to help the Cajuns get the day started strong.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles): Louisiana got things started on the right foot, taking the doubles point with a dominating performance. Drew and Garcia got the first win, with a 6-2 victory at No. 3 of Texas State’s pairing of Chia and Murcia. And shortly after that the Cajuns freshmen duo of Picaut and Radovanovic locked up the 1-0 lead for the Cajuns when they took down the Bobcats’ Perez and Navajo, 6-3, at No. 2.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles): After dropping the doubles point, the Bobcats got on the scoreboard for the first and only time in the match when at No. 3 Julia Navajo-Melendez beat Louisiana senior Elena Sava, 6-0, 6-2 to tie the score up at 1-1.
But the Cajuns made sure that they wrestled back the match’s momentum, which they did by not dropping another match for the remainder of the day.
Radovanovic got the Cajuns rolling again with a straight set win at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2, against Texas State’s Alex Jones and nearly right after Radovanovic’s win Picaut pushed the Cajuns one match away from clinching. Picaut handled her business in straight sets at No. 2 when she took down Texas State’s Rishona Israel-Lewis, 6-4, 6-4, to put the score at 3-1 in the Cajuns favor.
The longest match of the day, was also the winning match for the Cajuns, when at No. 6 Garcia dug in deep to wrap up a straight set win over the Bobcats’ Andrea Fuchs, 6-2, 7-5. Despite a valiant effort from the Bobcats’ Fuchs to push the match to the limit, Garcia wanted no part of a third set as she locked up things in the second set, to give the Cajuns the 4-1 win on the day.
NOTEWORTHY: The win for Garcia gives her three straight, improving her singles record to 7-5 and her combined record 12-8; Picaut improves to 8-5 in singles; Radovanovic snaps a three match losing streak and she improves to 6-6; In doubles Picaut and Radovanovic improves to 7-3 together.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Louisiana wraps up their weekend in Monroe with a 10 a.m. match against the hosting ULM Warhawks on Sunday, Mar. 25. The Cajuns will return to Lafayette for their last two home matches of the season hosting Prairie View A&M and Alcorn State in a senior day doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 31.
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter @RaginCajunsWT for updates during the match, links to any live stats provided and the recap following the day’s action.
Louisiana 4, Texas State 1
March 24, 2018 at Monroe, La.
(Raymond Heard Stadium)
Doubles:
1.) Johnson/Sava (LA) vs. Lewis/Jones (TXST) DNF
2.) Picaut/Radovanovic (LA) def. Perez/Navajo (TXST) 6-3
3.) Drew/Garcia (LA) def. Chia/Murcia (TXST) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
Singles:
1.) Kelly Drew (LA) vs. Ana Perez (TXST) DNF
2.) Floriane Picaut (LA) def. Rishona Israel-Lewis (TXST) 6-4, 6-4
3.) Julia Navajo-Melendez (TXST) def. Elena Sava (LA) 6-0, 6-2
4.) Dana Radovanovic (LA) def. Alex Jones (TXST) 6-4, 6-2
5.) Abby Johnson (LA) vs. Joy Chia Ming Ming (TXST) DNF
6.) Marina Rodriguez Garcia (LA) def. Andrea Fuchs (TXST) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 6*
Team Records:
Louisiana: 11-6
Texas State: 4-10
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