Box Score FORT WORTH – The McNeese tennis squad fought hard on Saturday before falling to TCU 6-1 in the season opener.

Starting the day in doubles action, the Cowgirl duo of Marija Mastilovic and Carlotta Romito fell to their TCU counterparts of Aleska Cveticanin and Kate Paulus 6-0 at line No. 1.

Finishing next at the No. 2 position, TCU's Chloe Hule and Stevie Kennedy defeated Charoline Erlandsson and Sofia San Jose Moreno 6-3 to secure the doubles point.

At line No. 3 McNeese's Giovanna Fioretti and Dalia Ahmed lead TCU's Addy Guevara and Mercedes Aristegui 5-3 before the match ended with no result.

In singles action, Moreno and Paulus were the first to finish at line No. 4. Moreno fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.

Next to finish, at line No. 2, Erlandsson would find success and pick up the Cowgirls only point of the day. Erlandsson would defeat her TCU counterpart of Kennedy in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

Back playing in the No. 1 position, Fioretti would drop her first set to Cveticanin 6-2. In their second set Fioretti would battle fiercely before succumbing to her opponent 7-6 to give TCU a 2-1 overall lead.

Finishing fourth at line No. 3, TCU's Aristegui would defeat Mastilovic in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the match for TCU.

Freshmen Ahmed and Romito would finish fifth and sixth in three-set matches.

Ahmed finished next at line No. 6. Ahmed dropped the first set to Hule 6-1 before finding her groove and taking the second set 6-2. In the tiebreaker Hule would take the set and the match point for the Horned Frogs.

Finishing last on the day, in the No. 5 position, Romito would take set one from Guevara 6-2. In set two Guevara would strike back and even things up with a 6-4 set victory. Guevara would carry that momentum to secure the tiebreaker and the final point of the day.

"I am incredibly proud of the effort and competitive spirit our players put into today's match," said McNeese head coach Giorgia Pozzan. "We started a little slow in doubles, but we stormed right back in singles, cutting the lead to 2-1. Our team pushed, fought and challenged TCU to the point where we were a few points away to even out the scores. Our freshmen stepped up to the plate too and almost came through with two big wins. We have many things we still need to improve but overall it was a solid effort against one of the best teams in the Big 12."

Match Results
McNeese vs TCU
Jan 19, 2019 at Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
TCU 6, McNeese 1
 
Singles competition
1. Aleksa Cveticanin (TCU) def. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) def. Stevie Kennedy (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Mercedes Aristegui (TCU) def. Marija Mastilovic (MCN) 6-3, 7-5
4. Kate Paulus (TCU) def. Sofia SanJose Moreno (MCN) 6-2, 6-0
5. Addy Guevara (TCU) def. Carlotta Romito (MCN) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9)
6. Chloe Hule (TCU) def. Dalia Ahmed (MCN) 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
 
Doubles competition
1. Aleksa Cveticanin/Kate Paulus (TCU) def. Marija Mastilovic/Carlotta Romito (MCN) 6-0
2. Chloe Hule/Stevie Kennedy (TCU) def. Charoline Erlandsson/Sofia SanJose Moreno (MCN) 6-3
3. Addy Guevara/Mercedes Aristegui (TCU) vs. Giovanna Fioretti/Dalia Ahmed (MCN) 3-5, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
McNeese 0-1
TCU 2-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,1,3,6,5)
T-3:39  A-125

Up Next
The Cowgirls will travel down Interstate 10 to visit UL-Lafayette on January 22nd.