New Orleans - The New Orleans Privateers women's tennis team looks to secure their spot in the Southland Conference tournament during the final weekend of play. It begins Friday when New Orleans travels to Huntsville, Texas to face the Sam Houston State Bearkats. The match is set for 2 p.m.
New Orleans fell short by a 5-2 score in a hard fought match against Central Arkansas their last time on the court. The Privateers got singles wins from
Mar Gendra and
Yurina Asai in the effort. Gendra won at flight six and is 5-0 in that spot against conference opponents.
Entering the weekend, the Privateers sit in a tie for seventh with Incarnate Word at 3-6. The Bearkats are sitting in front of the Privateers in sixth place at 5-3. After Friday, New Orleans' season finale is at Lamar on Sunday. Lamar is currently tied for ninth and one game out of the last spot in the conference tournament.
The Privateers are undefeated against Sam Houston State since entering the Southland conference (4-0). Last season, New Orleans defeated the Bearkats 4-1. The Privateers swept two doubles matches and got two forfeit victories in singles as the Bearkats were shorthanded that day with just four players available for the match.
Sam Houston State (10-5, 5-3) lost their most recent match 5-2 to McNeese last Sunday. Even with the loss, the Bearkats have still won five of their last seven matches. Included in that span is two victories of 4-3 against conference foes, Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas.
The Bearkats have been strong in singles play with depth across the board. Four players have double digit victories in singles this spring. Sahaja Yamalapalli is one of those four and has a 7-1 conference record. Yamalapalli suffered her first Southland defeat at the hands of McNeese's Hannah Brett. As a unit, the Bearkats are a combined 58-31 in singles matches this season.
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