Box Score THIBODAUX, La. – Multiple freshmen stepped up as the ULM tennis team came back from a 3-0 deficit in its spring opener to defeat Nicholls State 4-3 on Monday morning.
The Colonels were the defending Southland Conference regular-season champion.
ULM, playing with an all-freshman lineup, found itself in a hole after losing the doubles point and the first two singles matches, but it was far from over.
Ioana Popescu got her squad on the right track with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win on court six. Luana Stanciu, playing her first collegiate match, followed with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Mylonas' 6-2, 6-4 decision tied the match. Martina Husarova, who enrolled at ULM in January as she moved in from Slovakia, clinched it for the Warhawks with a dramatic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Milou Pietersz. She lost the first set and trailed 3-1 in the second before winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Pauline Van Herck also made her ULM debut.
ULM will get its first home action of the year on Friday at 11:45 a.m. when McNeese State comes to town. Admission is free.
Singles Competition (order of finish: 1,4,6,5,3,2)
1. Stephanie Barnett (NICH) def. Pauline Van Herck (ULM) 6-1, 6-4
2. Martina Husarova (ULM) def. Milou Pietersz (NICH) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) def. Clemence King (NICH) 6-2, 6-4
4. Julia Melendez (NICH) def. Patricia Villar (ULM) 6-0, 6-4
5. Luana Stanciu (ULM) def. Isla Brock (NICH) 6-4, 6-3
6. Ioana Popescu (ULM) def. Laia Charles (NICH) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles Competition (order of finish: 1,2,3)
1. Stephanie Barnett/Ambika Pande (NICH) def. Patricia Villar/Pauline Van Herck (ULM) 6-1
2. Isla Brock/Clemence Krug (NICH) def. Luana Stanciu/Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) 6-1
3. Julia Melendez/Milou Pietersz (NICH) def. Ioana Popescu/Martina Husarova (ULM) 6-1
