Southern Illinois University
Tulane
Women's Tennis swept by Green Wave
03/10/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
March 10, 2010
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
NEW ORLEANS - The Saluki women's tennis team struggled in their spring break opener, falling to the Tulane Green Wave, 7-0, Wednesday in New Orleans.
The match was adjusted due to inclement weather in the forecast, putting singles play first followed by doubles. The switch played to Tulane's advantage, as Southern failed to win a set in singles, while all three doubles teams were defeated, too.
"Tulane is a tough opponent," said Saluki head coach Audra Audra Nothwehr. "They have really built their team up fast since renewing their program in 2008."
Arguably the best match of the day came in top singles, as Melanie Delsart dueled Tulane's Mariam Kurdadze - the sixth best player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern region. After dropping the first set, the Argentine freshman came back to take the second set into tiebreakers. However, Kurdadze prevailed, taking the match 6-2, 7-6 (6-3).
Michela Cruise made her return to the courts in the Big Easy, where she faced the Green Wave's Hila Elster in No. 6 singles. However, Cruise's return was not a memorable one, losing to Elster 6-2, 7-5.
"Michela finally made her debut in singles today and really competed well," Nothwehr said. "It was exciting to see her so hungry to play."
Doubles was equally as frustrating for the Dawgs.
The duo of Delsart and Martina Vianna Ce saw their six match winning streak snapped. The pair fell to TU's Lindsay Dvorak and Emma Helisten, 8-5.
Meanwhile, Anastacia Simons and Vishakha Sheoran fell in top doubles to Kurdadze and Emma Levy, 8-4.
The Salukis hit the courts again tomorrow, when they make the short drive to Thibodaux, La., to clash with the Nicholls State Lady Colonels at 1:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
