Box Score LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese tennis squad bounced back against Stephen F. Austin after dropping their first conference match of the season to Northwestern State on Friday.

McNeese (7-2, 2-1 SLC) defeated the Ladyjacks of SFA (0-11, 0-4 SLC) 6-1 on Sunday (March 11).

Phonexay Chitdara and Charoline Erlandsson started the day strong for the Cowgirls. Chitdara and Erlandsson blanked the Ladyjack duo of Kaja Ljubic and Vera Carvalho 6-0 to give the Cowgirls an early lead in doubles competition.

Next to finish were the number one doubles team of Sarah Jurakova and Hannah Brett. The Cowgirl duo would secure the doubles point for the team with a 6-4 victory over Darinka Tiboldi and Nida Kamal.

Giovanna Fioretti and Marjia Mastilovic would have their match cut short against Gabi Guilarte and Sian Payne. The match was unfinished and the score was 5-5 when it ended.

In singles play, the Cowgirls would win their first three sets to clinch the team victory.

The first to finish in the number two position was Sarah Jurakova. Jurakova lost one game to Sian Payne and won the point in straight sets 6-0 and 6-1.

Next to finish and securing McNeese its third point was Phonexay Chitdara. Chitdara would blank Ladyjack foe Nida Kamal 6-0 in their first set before clinching the team point with a 6-3 victory in the second set.

Clinching the team win for the Cowgirls was Giovanna Fioretti. SFA's Gabi Guilarte would battle hard in the first set before falling to Fioretti 7-5. In their second set Fioretti would put her opponent away by a score of 6-3.

The only loss of the day for the Cowgirls would come at the hands of Kaja Ljubic. Ljubic would defeat Charoline Erlandsson in three sets 6-3, 6-7, and 10-3 in the tiebreaker.

The next match would also finish in a tiebreaker, but this time in favor of the Cowgirls.

Hannah Brett defeated Darinka Tiboldi 7-5 in their first set. In the second set Tiboldi would would get a win of her own and win the set 6-3 tying the match at one a piece. Brett would come out firing in the third set tiebreaker and put Tiboldi away 10-3.

Ending the day for the Cowgirls on a high note, Marjia Mastilovic would go on to defeat Armelle Cerdan in straight sets by a score of 7-5 in both sets.

"I'm very proud of the way we competed today. We had a tough match on Friday against Northwestern State, but we bounced back today and with a lot of energy against a good SFA team," said McNeese tennis head coach Helena Besovic. "We looked fresh and ready to go. We are taking recovery after matches very seriously. In order to be successful in our league this season, we need to be in great physical and mental shape."

The Cowgirls will continue conference competition on Saturday (March 17) when they travel to face Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas. They will return home on March 24 to face Incarnate Word.

McNeese 6, SFA 1

Singles
1. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) def. Guilarte, Gabi (SFA) 7-5, 6-3
2. Sarah Jurakova (MCN) def. Payne, Sian (SFA) 6-0, 6-1
3. Hannah Brett (MCN) def. Tiboldi, Darinka (SFA) 7-5, 3-6, 10-2
4. Marjia Mastilovic (MCN) def. Cerdan, Armelle (SFA) 7-5, 7-5
5. Ljubic, Kaja (SFA) def. Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) 6-3, 6-7, 10-3
6. Phonexay Chitdara (MCN) def. Kamal, Nida (SFA) 6-0, 6-3
 
Doubles
 1. Sarah Jurakova/Hannah Brett (MCN) def. Tiboldi, Darinka/Kamal, Nida (SFA) 6-4
2. Guilarte, Gabi/Payne, Sian (SFA) vs. Giovanna Fioretti/Marjia Mastilovic (MCN) no result
3. Phonexay Chitdara/Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) def. Ljubic, Kaja/Carvalho, Vera (SFA) 6-0
 
Match Notes:
Stephen F. Austin 0-11
McNeese 7-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,6,1,5,3,4)