Hot start, cancellations mark beginning of women’s tennis season

Mark Keplinger, Sports Editor
February 9, 2022

  • Charlotte Russell and the rest of Tulane women’s tennis have won three of their first four matches this year.

    Parker Waters
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  • Kristen Borland prepares to return a serve.

    Tulane Athletics
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  • Adelaide Lavery and Brooke Theis have only lost a single doubles match this year.

    Parker Waters
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  • Charlotte Russell hits her forehand shot.

    Parker Waters
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  • Mackenzie Clark has yet to lose a singles match this season.

    Parker Waters
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Tulane women’s tennis started the season by winning three of their first four matches, but had three matches either canceled or postponed. The Green Wave dominated against Alcorn State, Northwestern State and Southern before falling to Alabama.

Tulane started 2022 with a 7-0 victory over Alcorn State on Jan. 20. The Braves were outclassed in both doubles and singles play, with Tulane sweeping eight out of 15 sets. Lahari Yelamanchili impressively won her singles match without dropping a single game.

Tulane was scheduled to play Alcorn State again on Jan. 20, but the match was canceled. The LSU Tigers were supposed to visit on Jan. 25, but the match has been rescheduled to Feb. 23 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Tiger’s camp.

Jan. 29 saw Tulane have two matches in a double header against Northwestern State and Southern. The Green Wave won both matches 4-0. Against the NSU Demons, Tulane won all matchups in both the singles and doubles category. Mackenzie Clark’s win gave Tulane their first singles win of the match, while Charlotte Russell’s singles victory clinched the victory for the Green Wave.

Against the Jaguars, Yelamanchili shone once again, when she did not drop a game against her opponent. Lily Walther and Cora Barber also had impressive victories in their singles matches.

Feb. 5 saw the Green Wave lose their first match of the season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The teams split the first two doubles matches, but the deciding third match went to Alabama when Anne Marie Hiser and Loudmilla Bencheikh prevailed 6-4 over Mackenzie Clark and Kristen Borland. 

Clark got some vengeance against Bencheikh in their singles match with a 6-2, 6-3 victory, and Tulane did hold a lead in the singles event after three matches, but the Crimson Tide roared back to clinch the overall victory after the fifth single match.

Tulane was scheduled to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs, but it was canceled after an agreement between the two programs was met. 

The Green Wave will play two away matches against Tulsa on Feb. 11 and Wichita State on Feb. 13 before hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Feb. 18. Tulane tennis plays all home matches at the City Park Tennis Center, which is about a 20 minute drive from Tulane’s uptown campus.

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