Box Score LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese women's tennis team defeated Sam Houston St. 5-2 on Sunday. Just a few minutes before Freshman Dalia Ahmed secured the victory for McNeese, Nicholls defeated Lamar which clinched a spot for McNeese in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Twenty minutes prior to first serve, seniors Giovanna Fioretti and Charoline Erlandsson were honored for Senior Day.

"I thought that because I'm new it wasn't going to be as emotional," said McNeese head coach Giorgia Pozzan. "These two seniors mean so much mostly because of the leadership that they have showed and how open and welcoming they were toward me when I got here. At the end of the day it was almost more of their team than mine because they had been here for three years. I definitely think that they helped me set the culture and they helped me maintain a standard."

The Cowgirls (11-8, 6-4 SLC) extended their doubles winning streak to open the match against the Bearkats (13-7, 7-4 SLC).

At singles No. 1, Charoline Erlandsson and Marija Mastilovic made quick work of Roos Gerritsen and Lusine Chobanyan in a 6-1 victory to give the Cowgirls an early lead for the doubles point.

At singles No. 3, SHSU's Karla Montalvo and Petra Kaszas defeated McNeese's Sofia San Jose Moreno and Dalia Ahmed to even the doubles point up at one set apiece.

Cowgirls Giovanna Fioretti and Carlotta Romito would finish last in doubles at flight No. 2. The Cowgirl duo would get the better of Sahaja Yamalapalli and Isidora Zivkovic in a close match to pick up the doubles point 7-5.

In singles action the Bearkats would even things up quickly before falling behind for good.

At singles No. 1, Yamalapalli would score SHSU's first point of the day with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Fioretti.

Next to finish, Mastilovic would take down Montalvo in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to put McNeese back on top 2-1.

Senior Erlandsson would further extend the Cowgirls lead with a straight set victory over Zivkovic 6-4, 6-2.

At singles No. 4, Chobanyan would score the Bearkat's second and final point of the day with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Moreno.

At singles No. 5, Ahmed would strike first in a hard fought 7-6 first set win to take the early lead over Gerritsen. Gerritsen would fire back in the second set and secure a 6-1 set win over the Cowgirl. In the third and final set, Ahmed would buckle down and take care of business to secure the match for McNeese with a 7-5 third-set victory.

Finishing last on the day, freshman Romito dropped her first set to Kaszas 4-6. In the second set Romito dominated her opponent 6-1. In the final set both competitors battled fiercely but Romito would come out on top 7-6 (7-2).

"For us this was just another day at the office," said Pozzan. "Getting to the tournament is an expectation and not an achievement for us. I want to use that match (Abilene Christian) to practice competing while doing the right things. We are not trying to win that match because otherwise we don't get in, we are trying to win it by competing hard and doing things that will help us in the tournament."

Regarding the play of freshmen Ahmed and Romito, Pozzan said, "It was amazing how they stayed through the adversity today and I think it was mostly because of the seniors. Not only that they stayed and fought for them, but because they saw their seniors fight hard and compete hard throughout the season."

The Cowgirls will close out the season on April 20th when they travel to Tyler, Texas to face-off against lead leading Abilene Christian.

Tennis Match Results
Sam Houston State vs McNeese
4/14/2019 at Lake Charles, LA
(Nancy Hank Tennis Center)
 
McNeese 5, Sam Houston State 2
 
Singles competition
1. Sahaja Yamalapalli (SHSU) def. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) 6-0, 6-1
2. Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) def. Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Marija Mastilovic (MCN) def. K DeLaLuz Montalvo (SHSU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) def. Sofia SanJose Moreno (MCN) 6-3, 6-4
5. Dalia Ahmed (MCN) def. Roos Gerritsen (SHSU) 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
6. Carlotta Romito (MCN) def. Petra Kaszas (SHSU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
 
Doubles competition
1. Charoline Erlandsson/Marija Mastilovic (MCN) def. Roos Gerritsen/Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) 6-1
2. Giovanna Fioretti/Carlotta Romito (MCN) def. Sahaja Yamalapalli/Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) 7-5
3. K DeLaLuz Montalvo/Petra Kaszas (SHSU) def. Sofia SanJose Moreno/Dalia Ahmed (MCN) 7-5
 
Match Notes:
Sam Houston State 13-7, 7-4 SLC
McNeese 11-8, 6-4 SLC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6)
T-3:47