Box Score ABILENE, TX - The McNeese women's tennis team defeated conference foe Abilene Christian 4-3 today in a nail biter.

McNeese (8-2, 4-1 SLC) would start out the day by winning the doubles point and taking an early lead over Abilene Christian (8-7, 2-3 SLC).

In the number three spot the Wildcat duo of Whitney Williams and Ileana Mocciola would take an early lead for the doubles point . The ACU duo would defeat Phonexay Chitdara and Charoline Erlandsson 6-3 and put pressure on the Cowgirls early.

This victory for Abilene would be short lived.

Next to finish were Giovanna Fioretti and Marija Mastilovic in the number two spot. Fioretti and Mastilovic would defeat Autumn Crossnoe and Sasrah Adams 6-4 to tie the doubles sets 1-1.

Sarah Jurakova and Hannah Brett would find themselves in familiar water. They would be playing in the deciding doubles set for the fourth time in the last five matches.

Jurakova and Brett would not let the pressure get the best of them as they defeated Lucile Pothier and Nini Memishishi 6-4 to secure the doubles point and give McNeese and early 1-0 lead.

In singles play Chitdara would extend the Cowgirls lead in the number six spot. Chitdara took care of business early defeating Mocciola in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-2.

Finishing next in the number two spot, Jurakova would also win in straight sets defeating Williams 6-3 and 6-2.

The Cowgirls would lead ACU 3-0 overall at this point, but the Wildcats weren't done fighting and came roaring back.

In the number one spot ACU's  Pothier would defeat Fioretti in three hard fought sets 6-4, 1-6, and 6-0 to give ACU their first point of the day.

Erlandsson would finish next in the five spot and also fall in three sets to Crossnoe. Crossnoe would drop the first set 2-6 before finding her rhythm and winning the last two sets 6-3 and 6-3.

In another three set finisher Memishishi would defeat McNeese's Brett 6-3, 4-6, and 6-3.

With Memishishi's victory the match was now all tied up at three points apiece.

The last two competitors to finish were Mastilovic and Adams. Mastilovic would take the early lead winning the first set 6-4 before dropping the second 6-7 that included a 6-8 tiebreaker.

With the match on the line the Cowgirls' Mastilovic would buckle down and defeat Adams in dominating fashion 6-1.

"I'm very proud of the team effort today. We fought hard on every single court," said McNeese tennis head coach Helena Besovic. "This is a very important win for us on the road, and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward in the season."

The Cowgirls improved to 4-1 in conference play and also sport a 3-0 mark on the road.

The Cowgirls will return home on Saturday (March 24) to face Incarnate Word followed by a visit from reigning Southland Conference champions Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday (March 26).
 
McNeese 4, Abilene Christian 3

Singles
1. Lucile Pothier (ACU) def. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
2. Sarah Jurakova (MCN) def. Whitney Williams (ACU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Nini Memishishi (ACU) def. Hannah Brett (MCN) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
4. Marjia Mastilovic (MCN) def. Sarah Adams (ACU) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1
5. Autumn Crossnoe (ACU) def. Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Phonexay Chitdara (MCN) def. Ileana Mocciola (ACU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
1. Sarah Jurakova/Hannah Brett (MCN) def. Lucile Pothier/Nini Memishishi (ACU) 6-4
2. Giovanna Fioretti/Marjia Mastilovic (MCN) def. Autumn Crossnoe/Sarah Adams (ACU) 6-4
3. Whitney Williams/Ileana Mocciola (ACU) def. Phonexay Chitdara/Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) 6-3

Match Notes:
McNeese 8-2
Abilene Christian 8-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,1,5,3,4)