PENSACOLA. Fla. - Doubles teams made an impact for the Privateers women's tennis team while
Salma Abdelrahim and
Yurina Asai solidified a one-two finish for New Orleans in flight three singles at the West Florida Invitational.
Abdelrahim and
Brittany Johnson paired up to score a victory for New Orleans in flight two doubles. Johnson, who was unable to participate in the Scramble on the Bayou due to injury, made her fall debut while pairing with the freshman, Abdelrahim for four victories. The win to seal their unblemished run was a 6-3 triumph.
In the top flight,
Trang Dao and
Mar Gendra bounced back from an opening round loss to win the consolation bracket. In the consolation final, Dao and Gendra scored a 6-2 victory over North Alabama's tandem of Claudia Arroyo and Elise Sickle.
"It was a good performance this weekend especially from Salma, Yurina, and Brittany," said Coach Burzis Kanga. "We captured two championships and a runner-up finish. I'm pleased with the way this tournament went considering there were a number of good schools there. We just have to keep on working. There's a high level of maturity and this team is dedicated. Next week will tell us more about who we are when we play at Southeastern."
Asai made it to the finals in the third flight. Asai had two straight set victories to open her campaign and followed with a win over West Florida's Gabriella Araujo to earn a spot in the final where she finished runner-up to her teammate.
On the opposite side of the bracket, Abdelrahim continued her run of solid results in singles play. In flight three, she defeated Claire DeGeorge in the opening round 6-4, 6-0. She followed that up with a straight set victory over Nicholls' Daphne Haverkamp. A semifinal victory over West Florida's Valeria Mantilla put Abdelrahim in the final where she prevailed over Asai.
The Privateers had two singles wins against a West Florida squad which made the Division II National Championship a season ago.
New Orleans will close their fall schedule on Friday, Oct. 26 when they participate in the George E. Fouramux Invitational hosted by Southeastern.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersTN on Twitter,
@UNOPrivateers on Instagram, like
/NewOrleansTennis on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
