After a convincing victory on Thursday, the New Orleans Privateers women's tennis team jumps right back into action on Saturday when they face the Southeastern Lions on Saturday at the Southeastern Tennis Complex. The match is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
New Orleans (5-4, 0-1 Southland) enjoyed a 6-1 victory over SIUE on Thursday at the University Tennis Center. The Privateers were dominant in doubles and continued that momentum into singles play to pick up the victory over the Cougars.
Yurina Asai has been one of the hot hands of late for Coach Burzis Kagna's squad. Asai is on a four-match winning streak in singles and has won three of those matches in straight sets. Her win on Thursday over SIUE's Katherine Lahue came on a clean sweep (6-0, 6-0). Asai is also 4-0 in doubles when paired with
Claudette Gilhespie.
The Privateers have beaten Southeastern on the court in each of the last three seasons, but the last two have been by the narrowest of margins. New Orleans has won 4-3 decisions over Southeastern in each of the last two years. In last season's bout, which took place in New Orleans, five of the six singles matches stretched to three sets.
In the fall, New Orleans participated in the George E. Fourmaux Invitational hosted by Southeastern. The Privateers knocked off Southeastern 3-2 to take third place in the tournament. Asai, Gilhespie, and
Brittany Johnson all earned singles wins to propel New Orleans to victory.
Southeastern (3-6, 0-1 Southland) is also looking to bounce back after dropping their conference opener. The Lions suffered a 7-0 loss at the hands of McNeese last Sunday. Southeastern has lost four straight entering Saturday.
The Lions have a 14-10 overall record in doubles between their three pairs but are just 15-26 combined in singles. Dalina Dalhmans and Fleur Holtkamp lead Southeastern in singles triumphs with three each. Dahlmans and Ximena Yanez are 5-2 in doubles at the number two spot (5-3 overall).
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