MONROE, La. – It's been three days since the Warhawks played their last match of the 2018 season. The ULM women's tennis team gave the university and the community another season to be proud of, finishing 4
th in the Sun Belt Conference with a record of 12-8, for their eighth winning season in the past ten years.
Nearly twelve months ago, the Warhawks set out on possibly the hardest journey in college athletics- defending the conference title.
ULM finished the 2017 season finished with an overall mark of 16-2, defeating South Alabama in the final round of the championship in 4-3 fashion, claiming the Sun Belt Champion title for the first time since 2003 and only the ninth time in program history.
Their success in the spring had garnered multiple selections to prestigious tournaments across the United States.
In September, top returners senior
Stefana Andrei and sophomore
Karolina Snita were invited to the Milwaukee Classic, the largest and longest-running event of its kind.
Andrei and Snita had advanced to the quarterfinals after an exhilarating Round of 32 victory against a duo from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Andrei, who has had nothing but success on the court since her arrival at ULM in 2016, posted two, straight set victories in both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 to move on to the quarterfinals. There, she faced no.57 Sinead Lohan from the University of Miami; Andrei achieve a set one win, but fell to Lohan in sets two and three. Lohan would go on to win the MTC's singles competition title.
At the ITA All-American Championships, Andrei would fall to no.9 Andrea Lazaro in qualifying singles, after rallying back from a set one loss to defeat Lazaro in set two 6-3. Andrei moved onto the qualifying singles consolation were she rose victorious over top performer from East Tennessee State and SMU.
From there, Andrei and Snita were selected to the Main Draw of the ITA Regional Championship, where some of the country's top players are featured; Andrei and Snita were the only Sun Belt duo with the honor.
Andrei advanced onto the Round of 16, with wins against South Alabama's Alina Zolotareva (6-2, 6-2) and Auburn's Caroline Turner (6-3, 6-0).
With the fall season coming to a close, Andrei, Snita, and the rest of the Warhawk squad buckled down and began preparing for the spring. Everyone had high expectations of the conference champions going forward, and the Warhawks did not disappoint.
Their first stage, the 2018 ITA Kick-Off Weekend, would test their skills as one of the nations' 60-best teams.
ULM began with a 4-3 team win over Marshall. The Warhawks dropped the doubles point to the Herd, and after tying the score 3-3, sophomore
Madalina Grigoriu stepped up with a three-set 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win over Brooke Lashway. Grigoriu's win was ULM's fourth point, clinching the match victory.
The Warhawks would fall in the Championship with host-team, no.3 Florida, closing out their spring tournament road-trip. ULM competed with multiple ranked opponents, putting their best foot forward, showcasing the strength and talent of the program.
Over the course of the spring season, ULM walked away with big wins against in-state rivals Louisiana Tech (4-3) and ULL (4-3).
Standout freshman
Karolina Silwanowicz helped guide her team to their 4-3 win over the Lady Techsters with a match-clinching win over Tech's Angela Lorenzo (3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1). Fellow freshman
Teodora Radu fell into the spotlight as well, clinching the match point against ULL's Dana Radovanovic (4-6, 6-4, 6-4).
Meanwhile, Andrei and Snita continued to dominate their opponents.
In doubles play, the duo finished the regular season 8-3, with big conference wins over pairs from UT-Arlington, ULL, Texas State, and Arkansas State.
Andrei had even more success in singles competition, completing her senior season at ULM undefeated, with a 12-0 overall mark in the one and two position. Her most recent win, came over Sun Belt Player of the Year, Kristin Reshe- who Andrei defeated 6-4, 6-1 in post-season play.
After earning the number six seed at the Sun Belt Championship in Peachtree City, Georgia- ULM went on to not only win the first round against no.11 seed Arkansas State, but also pull off the huge upset over the no.3 seed, Coastal Carolina, 4-2.
Headed into the semi-finals with their eyes on returning to the championship round, the Warhawks did all the could when facing no.2 seeded Georgia State.
ULM would drop the doubles point, but strong performances in singles play tied the match at 3-3. On court two, Snita faced GSU's Daniela Ramirez; the two competitors split sets one and two, and although Snita pulled ahead in set three with a 4-1 lead, Ramirez was able to finish strong and finished with the 6-4, set three win.
Now that the regular season has concluded, Andrei and her spectacular season finish, will look ahead to her participation in the NCAA regional tournament.
ULM proceeded to finish their spring season ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference, the best finish among other Warhawk programs, earning ULM eight points on their hunt for the Bubas Cup title.
Head coach
Terrence De Jongh completed his 12
th season at the help of the women's tennis program this spring, compiling an overall record of 155-84-1. De Jongh came to ULM and turned around a program that had three-straight losing seasons, into a program that has achieved its eighth winning season in the last ten years.
Fans can stay up to date with all things ULM women's tennis, by following the team on Facebook and Twitter at @ULM_Tennis.
