NEW ORLEANS –
Iris Danne held serve at the second time of asking as she rallied from behind to give the New Orleans Privateers a 4-3 win over the Nicholls Colonels on Thursday at the Privateer Tennis Center.
Danne and Blanca Losada kept trading service breaks in the deciding set. Danne was up 4-2 at one point, but Losada held serve then the two players broke each other's serve twice in a row.
Danne rallied from down 40-15 in the decisive game with solid court coverage and shot making to take the next three points and give the Privateers their first conference win of the season.
"We were challenged by a Nicholls team that has improved a lot," said Coach
Burzis Kanga. "We came out strong in singles led by Fleur and Nouray. In the deciding match it came down to a battle of nerves and Iris came out on top. I'm really happy for them and I hope it carries them through the rest of the season."
The day started with Nicholls earning the doubles point. A 6-4 win by Losada and Noemie Piquet at flight two finished off matters for the Colonels. Constanza Cruz and Sophia Safarova won 6-3 at flight three. The Privateers got a 6-3 win from
Anastassia Kouchnareva and
Kateryna Kalistratova in flight one.
In singles, the Privateers had two quick finishes between
Nouray Khaled and
Fleur Sprengers. Khaled only lost one game and sealed her match with a service ace as she won 6-1, 6-0.
Sprengers coasted to a 6-2, 6-3 win to give the Privateers a 2-1 advantage.
The Colonels won the next two matches to finish as Cruz won 7-5, 6-3 at flight six and Aada Inna won 6-4, 6-2 at flight one.
New Orleans leveled the score at 3-3 when Kalistratova rallied back from down a set and won all but one game in the deciding set as she took a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision.
NEXT UP
The Privateers will face Southeastern on Apr. 3 at 1 p.m.
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