MALIBU, Calif. – One big moment was not enough for the ULM tennis program. Caitlin Herb and Petra Horakova continued their clutch ride at the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships with an 8-5 win Saturday morning over Kasey Gardiner and Kimmy Guerin of Wake Forest, the No. 4 seed. They would, however, fall in the afternoon to No. 41 Wichita State.
The victory came on the heels of Saturday's 8-7 win over No. 2 USC's Alex Letzt and Meredith Xepoleas. The two wins at collegiate tennis' biggest fall stage has set a new standard for the Warhawk program, which had one win over two appearances at the event in its history prior.
The Warhawks never trailed the Demon Deacons. An early lead was almost lost, but ULM closed it out.
It was a unique experience for the sophomore Herb and senior Horakova, winning two doubles matches at a prestigious tournament despite never playing together heading into the weekend. They were also the only Sun Belt representatives. The two are the lone non-freshmen on the active ULM roster.
Herb and Horakova's run came to an end in the nightcap of the doubleheader, falling 8-7 to No. 41 Wichita State's Rebecca Pedrazzi and Aleksandra Trifunovic. The Shockers are also seven-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champions.
The Warhawk duo had a 7-6 lead in that final match, but lost the serve and eventually the tiebreaker.
The next ULM action will be held in Waco, Texas, at the Baylor Fall Tennis Tournament. The event runs from Thursday-Sunday.
