NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The McNeese women's tennis team will make a third consecutive trip to the semi-finals of the Southland Conference Tournament after posting an impressive 4-1 victory over New Orleans in the opening round Friday afternoon at the Schlief Tennis Center on the campus of Stephen F. Austin.
 
The Cowgirls (15-8) entered the postseason primed and focus following a rocky end of the regular season after battling a few injuries and sickness. McNeese was able to revenge its loss to the Privateers (15-6)  earlier in the season and will now move its focus towards a tougher opponent. However, the Pokes are far from intimidated and are ready for the challenge.
 
With Friday's victory, the fourth-seeded Cowgirls will have a chance for revenge in Saturday afternoon's semi-final matchup with the No. 1 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. McNeese dropped a tough 4-3 loss to the Islanders at home during the regular season.
 
"I am very proud of how we handled today's match against New Orleans," said head coach Helena Besovic. We played very aggressive and with a lot of determination. That's also going to be our goal the rest of this tournament. The team is in good spirit and looking forward to more great tennis."
 
The Cowgirls clinched the doubles points with wins on courts one and three. The team of Sarah Jurakova and Giovanna Fioretti took the advantage with a 6-1 win before UNO tied things up during doubles action. However, the team of Hannah Brett and Charoline Erlandsson buckled down and defeated New Orleans' combo of Hafsa Laraibi and Yasmine Rashad 7-5 (6-4) to claim the first point.
 
Brett continued her dominating effort on the court as she secured her 14^th straight singles win with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over the Privateers Laraibi while Jurakova followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win for the 3-0 lead.
 
UNO attempted to make the match interesting with a win on court six to cut the McNeese lead to a 3-1 score.
 
After having been sidelined for most of the regular season due to an injury, senior Klaudia Gawlik returned to her winning ways and topped Anna Segarra Rius in the top spot 6-4, 6-3 to help clinch the winning point and advance the Cowgirls into the next round. Gawlik recorded her 60^th career victory as a McNeese tennis player, the second best in program history.
 
Fioretti and junior Julia Kral's matches were discontinued after the Cowgirls clinched the fourth point.
 
Fans can follow updates from this weekend by following @McNeeseTennis on Twitter. Daily updates will also be provided on the McNeese Tennis Facebook page.
 
McNeese State 4, New Orleans 1
Apr 22, 2016 at Nacogdoches, Texas (Schlief Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. Klaudia Gawlik (MCN) def. Anna Segarra Rius (UNO) 6-4, 6-3
2. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) vs. Soledad Calderon (UNO) 6-1, 0-6, 4-3, unfinished
3. Sarah Jurakova (MCN) def. Anja Luethi (UNO) 6-2, 6-3
4. Julia Kral (MCN) vs. Trang Dao (UNO) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
5. Hannah Brett (MCN) def. Hafsa Laraibi (UNO) 6-1, 6-0
6. Yasmine Rashad (UNO) def. Anastasija Trubich (MCN) 6-4, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Sarah Jurakova/Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) def. Anja Luethi/Trang Dao (UNO) 6-1
2. Soledad Calderon/Anna Segarra Rius (UNO) def. Klaudia Gawlik/Julia Kral (MCN) 6-3
3. Hannah Brett/Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) def. Hafsa Laraibi/Yasmine Rashad (UNO) 7-5 (6-4)
 
Match Notes
New Orleans 15-6
McNeese State 15-8
2016 Southland Conference Tournament Quarterfinal
#4 McNeese State vs. #5 New Orleans
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3) | Singles (5, 3, 6, 1, uf, uf)
#4 McNeese State advances to the SLC Tournament Semifinals
Official: Don Brandy T-2:18 A-84