Tulane University
Louisiana-Lafayette
Women's Tennis Defeats Louisiana-Lafayette, 5-2
Apr 9, 2011 | Women's Tennis
April 9, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - It was a match that lasted three hours and 47 minutes in the blazing sun, but it was worth every second and every drop of sweat to the Tulane University women's tennis team as the Green Wave defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, 5-2, Saturday afternoon at the Goldring Tennis Center.
Tulane trailed in two of the three doubles matches but wound up sweeping pairs play and the Green Wave got wins on the first three singles matches to be completed to earn the team victory. The win snaps a two-match skid as Tulane improved to 9-10 on the year. UL-Lafayette, meanwhile, fell to 9-7.
"Credit goes to UL-Lafayette," Tulane head women's tennis coach Terri Sisk said. "I thought they did a really good job. They came out here and gave us a scare in doubles. In two of the three courts we were playing from a deficit but we did a good job of buckling down and taking care of business. They really pushed us today.
"Having 10 days off and playing in this kind of heat against a team as tough as UL-Lafayette was a big grind for us. It really pushed us in every part that we talk about both mentally and physically. I thought we did well and I though UL-Lafayette played well."
The Green Wave started off well as Hila Elster and Elizabeth Hamlin made quick work of the Ragin' Cajun tandem of Mia Gordon and Milou Israel in an 8-2 win on Court 3. From there, Lindsay Dvorak and Emma Helistén rallied from a 4-1 deficit on Court 2 to post an 8-5 win over Sandra Alhqvist and Briggitt Marcovich while Mariam Kurdadze and Emma Levy bounced back from a 5-2 hole to complete the doubles sweep with an 8-6 decision over Julie Mazinova and Audrey Wooland on Court 1.
The momentum of the come-back win carried over into singles play for Kurdadze as the junior from The Republic of Georgia rolled past Mazinoa on Court 1 6-1, 6-0 to give Tulane a 2-0 advantage. Helistén followed suit with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Alhqvist on Court 5 and freshman Katherine Cecil clinched the team decision with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mia Gordon on Court 6.
"Mariam played some of the best tennis I've seen her play," Sisk said. "I think it was important to her to get back on track for her after having to retire the last two matches in Houston. And Katie has been clutch all year for us. When she's played, she's done a super job and we're looking forward to seeing great things out of her these next two matches."
While the outcome was already decided, the Ragin' Cajuns refused to go away quietly as Marcovich defeated Elster in No. 4 singles play 6-3, 6-4 and Wooland followed with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win over Levy on Court 2. UL-Lafayette had a chance to make the final score a one-point affair, but Dvorak had other ideas.
After downing Israel in the opening set 6-3, Dvorak dropped the second set 6-3 and fell behind 4-1 in the deciding frame. Undaunted, Dvorak rallied back to tie the set at 6-all and swept the tie-breaker 7-0 to account for the final score.
"Lindsay did a good job," Sisk said. "She hates three-set matches and in the second set, she kind of mentally disappeared for a little bit. But she really fought back. She was down 4-1 in the third and came back to give us a 5-2 result as opposed to a 4-3. That's one of the things we wanted to see - to make sure she has that mental discipline to make that happen."
The Green Wave return to action on Thursday, April 14 when they play host to Conference USA foe Southern Miss at 2 p.m. at the Goldring Tennis Center. From there, Tulane will close out the regular season at home against South Alabama on April 17. Admission to both matches is free.
TULANE GREEN WAVE (9-10) DEFEATS LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (9-7): 5-2
Singles
No. 1: Mariam Kurdadze (Tulane) def. Julie Mazinova (UL-Lafayette) - 6-1, 6-0
No. 2: Audrey Wooland (UL-Lafayette) def. Emma Levy (Tulane) - 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
No. 3: Lindsay Dvorak (Tulane) def. Milou Israel (UL-Lafayette) - 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 4: Briggitt Marcovich (UL-Lafayette) def. Hila Elster (Tulane) - 6-3, 6-4
No. 5: Emma Helistén (Tulane) def. Sandra Alhqvist (UL-Lafayette) - 6-4, 6-2
No. 6: Katherine Cecil (Tulane) def. Mia Gordon (UL-Lafayette) - 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1: Mariam Kurdadze / Emma Levy (Tulane) def. Julie Mazinova / Audrey Wooland (UL-Lafayette) - 8-6
No. 2: Lindsay Dvorak / Emma Helistén (Tulane) def. Sandra Alhqvist / Briggitt Marcovich (UL-Lafayette) - 8-5
No. 3: Hila Elster / Elizabeth Hamlin (Tulane) def. Mia Gordon / Milou Israel (UL-Lafayette) - 8-2
Players Mentioned
