The New Orleans Privateers women’s tennis team lost 4-2 to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on March 12 at the Privateer Tennis Center. Despite a late effort by the Privateers, North Dakota secured their tenth win of the season.
The match began with North Dakota taking an early lead in doubles play. Ethel Li and Jule Schulte won five straight games at flight one, finishing with a 6-1 victory. At flight three, Alyssa Giupponi and Emma Roberts built a quick advantage and clinched their match by a double break.
In singles competition, Fleur Sprengers gave New Orleans its first point after defeating Li in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. However, Andrea Pineda put North Dakota back ahead with a strong performance at flight three, dropping only three games. The Fighting Hawks extended their lead when Giupponi won her match at flight five with scores of 7-5 and 6-4.
Kateryna Kalistratova sparked hope for the Privateers by breaking serve late in her second set and holding on for a 6-4, 6-3 win over Schulte at flight two. Meanwhile, Danique Vermue and Ananya Dhankhar both forced third sets after losing their openers. Alva Norberg then sealed the overall victory for North Dakota by winning five consecutive games in her third set against Vermue. Dhankhar was leading her third set when the match was decided.
Looking ahead, the Privateers will begin conference play against Northwestern State on Friday.
