Box Score MONROE, La. - The ULM tennis team rolled to its eighth win
in a row with a dominant 6-1 defeat of Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State
Sunday at Heard Stadium. Medy Blankvoort also remained undefeated in singles
play and moved to 14-0 overall.
The Warhawks improved their conference mark to 3-0 this
season and have yet to drop a match to a Sun Belt opponent. ULM (12-2) has
outscored its league opponents 15-3.
Blankvoort handily dispatched Janie Nowland at No. 3 singles
6-1, 6-2 and claimed her 15th consecutive win since she took down
Denver's Emma Isberg at the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
"Her hard work has paid off," said head coach Terrence De
Jongh. "She's been working hard the whole semester. It shows in her results
because she's remained undefeated, and I know she will continue to work hard to
close out the season strong."
With three matches remaining before postseason, Blankvoort
is nearing the program's first regular season undefeated finish in recent
history, which dates back at least eight years.
The Warhawks made a clean sweep of doubles to take a one
point advantage heading into singles play. Vivian Polak and Ema Turudija led
off with an 8-3 victory on court three and Blankvoort and Monica Winkel quickly
followed with an 8-4 defeat of Biljana Miloshevska and Jess Heeps-Eriksen.
Sophie Rufyikiri and Silvia Tumova fell behind early on
court one against Mariana Rong and Ioanu Teu, but fought back and closed out
doubles action with an 8-7 victory.
"The last two
contests we've won all three doubles matches," said De Jongh. "Compared to the
beginning of the season, the doubles have come a long way. It shows that we are
improving because of our ability to close out all three matches with wins."
Winkel's was the first singles contest to finish after she
thrashed Ceara Howey 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 6 slot. Polak came in next after she defeated
Dow with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 result on court five to end a two match losing
skid.
Rufyikiri also bounced back from two straight losses over
the past two contests with a 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets win at No. 1 singles.
Two Warhawks went an additional set, and Turudija also
stayed unbeaten in singles play this season after she bounced back to a 6-7,
6-1, 6-2 win on court four. Tamara Slijepcevic earned Arkansas State's (8-5,
0-2 Sun Belt) lone point after she took the tiebreaker over Tumova 4-6, 6-2,
10-7.
The Warhawks close out this season's home slate against Sun
Belt opponent Middle Tennessee Friday at 2:30 p.m. ULM's two seniors, Polak and
Winkel, will be honored for Senior Day prior to the match.
ULM 6, Arkansas State
1
Singles:
1. Sophie Rufyikiri (ULM) def. Mariana Rong (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Tamara Slijepcevic (ASU) def. Silvia Tumova (ULM) 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
3. Medy Blankvoort (ULM) def. Janie Nowland (ASU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ema Turudija (ULM) def. Biljana Miloshevska (ASU) 7-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Vivian Polak (ULM) def. Ioana Teu (ASU) 7-5, 7-5
6. Monica Winkel (ULM) def. Ceara Howey (ASU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Sophie Rufyikiri/Silvia Tumova (ULM) def. Mariana Rong/Ioana Teu (ASU)
8-7
2. Monica Winkel/Medy Blankvoort (ULM) def. Janie Nowland/Ceara Howey (ASU) 8-4
3. Ema Turudija/Vivian Polak (ULM) def. Biljana Miloshevska/Jess Heeps-Eriksen
(ASU) 8-3
