Keeping the doubles lineup that was debuted against Lamar, the Lady Demons couldn’t keep the positive momentum going, as they ultimately dropped the doubles point in the tiebreaker on No. 2, which was the deciding point in a 4-3 loss to McNeese on Sunday afternoon at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.
“Tough loss to a really well-fighting McNeese Team,” said head Coach Jonas Brobeck. “They wanted it and played to important points to win.”
Doubles pair Paige Wise and Mariella Minetti were neck and neck on No. 2, but Natalia Ballo and Luna Jokanovic were too much to earn the doubles point for the Cowgirls.
Dorota Szczygielska and Sofi Garcia have proven to be a dominant pair in doubles. The pair only allowed the Cowgirls two points, 6-2.
Tjasa Klevisar and Ayu Ishibashi fell 6-4 on court No.1 to tie for the doubles point.
In singles, the match came down to spot No. 5, as Maria Wang Martines won in a tiebreaker in set three against Szczygielska to finish off the McNeese victory.
NSU (9-8 overall, 1-3 SLC) came out strong on singles by winning the first set in five of the six matches.
Ishibashi used her defeat against Lamar to drive her in her singles play on Sunday. She defeated Heta Nuutinen 6-4 in the first set and did not allow one game in the second to knot the match at 1-1.
Ishibashi is 8-6 in singles with six of those wins occurring on No. 2.
Wise has continued to show the Lady Demons that she is a force to be reckoned with on No. 3. She defeated Tiana Fox in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to put the Lady Demons in front 2-1.
Garcia did not allow one game in the first set on No. 4, but Natalia Ballo forced a third with a 6-3 second set win and tied the match at 2-2. It was the first of three singles matches that went the distance. McNeese (13-3, 3-1) came away with two of the three.
Minetti fell in the first set 6-3 at No. 6, but put on a dominant performance in the second to push it to a third. However, she couldn’t maintain it into the third set and she fell to Ariane Monello 6-4 and the Cowgirls led 3-2.
Klevisar forced a winner-take-all match at No. 5 with a victory at the top singles spot. She was forced into a third set by Emma-Lou Pommiers. Klevisar topped Pommiers 6-3 in the first set but fell in a close 7-6 second set. Klevisar fought hard and came out on top with a 6-4 win in the third set to tie the match at 3-3 before McNeese won at No. 5 to clinch the victory.
“I want to play my game and not worry about my opponent too much,” said Klevisar, “It’s my style, my game. It’s me.”
She is 12-4 in singles playing predominantly in the top slot.
Szczygielska had topped Maria Martines 7-5 in the first set but fell 7-5 in the second. She fought hard and pushed the third set into a tiebreaker but fell 7-6.
The Lady Demons are back in action Thursday against New Orleans at 1 p.m. to continue the five-match homestand.
