BEAUMONT, Texas – It took every bit of the 4-hour and 45-minute match time for Lamar to escape with a win over McNeese, fighting off a couple of Cowgirl match points by Carlotta Romito in the No. 3 singles matchup, to pull out a 4-3 non-conference win on Monday.
 
McNeese (0-5) won the doubles point after winning the No. 2 and 3 groups as freshmen Luna Jokanovic and Natalia Ballo picked up their first collegiate victories. Jokanovic teamed with Matilde Mulatero in the No. 2 group, winning 6-3 over Lamar's Natalia Garcia Molina and Bianca Vitale to take a 1-0 lead while Ballo teamed with Sofia San Jose Moreno to take a 6-4 win and snapping a 1-1 tie to win the point.
 
 "In doubles we started off well with really good energy," said Cowgirl head coach Giorgia Pozzan. "We established ourselves early and were able to get two of the doubles. Even in the third (match) that we lost, we were fighting in the end for it."
 
Lamar burst out the gates in singles competition, winning the first set in four of the six matches. But the Cowgirls settled in after dropping three of four singles to fall behind 3-2 with the Nos. 3 and 4 singles remaining. Lamar won the Nos. 1 and 2 singles right off the bat but Jokanovic notched her first collegiate singles win after beating Emmeline Polevoi 7-5, 6-1 to even the overall match at 2-2.
 
The Cardinals (3-1) picked up a win in the No. 5 group to go up 3-2 but the Cowgirls evened things up following a Ballo come-from-behind, three-set win over Lamar's Alba Perez. After dropping the first set 6-3, Ballow rallied to cruise to wins in the next two stanzas, 6-3, 6-0.
 
It all came down to the No. 3 singles matchup where McNeese's Carlotta Romito and Lamar's Molina battled it out in the longest match of the day. Molina edged out Romito 7-6 (13-11) to take the first set but Romito came back to win 7-6 (7-0) in the next set to even things up at 1-1. In the deciding set, Romito held match point but couldn't put Molina away before falling 7-6 (7-5).
 
"We didn't take the energy as much as we should have into singles," said Pozzan. "We went down (early) on the courts in the singles but started playing better in the second set.
 
"It was a really good showing by our freshmen as they were able to win their first matches in singles and doubles as Cowgirls. Overall it was a positive for us, we just have to continue working on doing better in singles in not falling behind right away."
 
The Cowgirls will open their home season on Saturday when they host Tyler Junior College in an exhibition match.
 
Lamar University 4, McNeese 3
Singles competition
1. Bianca Vitale (LU-W) def. Matilde Mulatero (MCN) 6-2, 6-1
2. Elena Rodriguez (LU-W) def. Sofia San Jose Moreno (MCN) 6-1, 6-4
3. Natalia Molina (LU-W) def. Carlotta Romito (MCN) 6-7 (11-13), 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-5)
4. Natalia Ballo (MCN) def. Alba Perez (LU-W) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Ana Jolic (LU-W) def. Hanna Blinouskaya (MCN) 6-2, 6-2
6. Luna Jokanovic (MCN) def. Emmeline Polevoi (LU-W) 7-5, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Elena Rodriguez/Alba Perez (LU-W) def. Carlotta Romito/Hanna Blinouskaya (MCN) 6-3
2. Matilde Mulatero/Luna Jokanovic (MCN) def. Bianca Vitale/Natalia Molina (LU-W) 6-3
3. Sofia San Jose Moreno/Natalia Ballo (MCN) def. Jayci Wong/Michelle Markovic (LU-W) 6-4
 
Match Notes: McNeese 0-5 Lamar University 3-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,6,5,4,3) T-4:45 A-127