Nicholls women’s tennis team drops home conference match to rival UNO Privateers

A constant brisk breeze blew the sails out of the Nicholls women’s tennis team Wednesday afternoon.

Nicholls fell to rival University of New Orleans 5-2 at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex in Southland Conference play.

The loss dropped Nicholls to 0-5 in the SLC and 6-10 overall. UNO improved to 3-2 in the conference and 6-8 overall.

After Nicholls dropped all three matches in doubles play, the Lady Colonels came out on top in two of the first three outcomes.

Playing on Court 2, Nicholls’ Carla Bouygues defeated UNO’s Anastassia Kouchnareva, 6-3, 6-1.

After UNO’s Kateryna Kalistratova beat Lea Grinberg, 6-0, 6-4 on Court 4, Nicholls’ Sophia Sara Safarova, on Court 3, topped Tristanne Dechoux of the Privateers 7-5, 6-4, to even the match, but that would prove to be the last win of the day for the Lady Colonels.

In other singles matches, UNO’s Audelia Morin Kougoucheff beat Noemie Piquet in Court 6 (6-4, 6-2; On Court 1, Laurie Barendse beat Nicholls’ Lui QianYu (7-6, 6-4).

In the final match of the day on Court 5, Constanza Cruz fell to UNO’s Ksenia Reznitskaya (6-2, 2-6, 5-7).

In doubles play, UNO’s No. 1 team of Dechoux and Kouchnareva beat the Nicholls duo of Bouygues and Cruz, 6-3; the No. 2 team of Reznitskaya and Barendse beat the Nicholls twosome of Aada Inna and Safarova, 6-1; and the No. 3 team of Kougoucheff and Kalistratova beat Grinberg and Piquet, 6-3.

Nicholls has a quick turnaround as both the women’s and men’s teams will play at Alcorn State in a match slated for 2 p.m. Thursday.

Nicholls 4, Jackson State 0 (men): The Colonels defeated an outmanned Jackson State team on Monday to improve to 8-6 on the season.

Nicholls won one of the doubles matches when Jackson State couldn’t field a No. 3 team. The No. 2 Nicholls team of Harry Collins and Kotaro Matsumura defeated the Jackson State team of Alejndro Pinilla and Gokalp Ayar 6-1 to clinch the point in doubles play.

At No. 1, the match ended with the Nicholls team of Omar Morsy and Quentin Lamothe ahead of Jackson State’s Raul Centro and Carlos Castillo, 4-3.

In singles play, Matsumura won by default. Morsy, on Court 1, defeated Federick Pickenstainer, 6-1, 6-0. On Court 3, Lamothe defeated Pinilla, 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the match.

The remaining matches went unfinished.

Jackson State 4, Nicholls 3 (women): Zeina Shaaban won the third set over Bouygues 7-5 on Court 2 to give Jackson State a close 4-3 win on Monday. Bouygues won the first set 6-3 and lost the second 3-6 before Shaaban prevailed at the end.

Nicholls won at No. 3 doubles by default before losing its other two matches with the point from doubles play going to Jackson State.

Bouygues and Cruz, playing at No. 1 doubles, lost to Shaaban and Tyra-Nicole Whyte, 3-6. The Nicholls No. 2 team of Inna and Safarova fell to Isabela Benavides and Chiara Desia, 3-6.

Nicholls won at No. 6 singles by default. Safarova won on Court 3, defeating Zofia Dziewiecka, 6-3, 6-4 to get things started for the Lady Colonels.

On Court 5, Nicholls’ Grinberg defeated Desia, 6-4, 6-1, but it would prove to be the final win of the day for the Lady Colonels.

Inna fell to Benavides 3-6, 1-6 on Court 4.

Playing on Court 1, Nicholls’ Liu fell in three sets to Whyte, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6.