The William Carey women’s tennis team claimed its sixth Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season title Wednesday with a 5-2 win over No. 10 Loyola University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The Crusaders set the tone early by sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the opening point. Victoria Vieten and Isabella Lechuga won 6-3 at No. 1 doubles, while JiAn Kang and Tiffany Chang dominated at No. 2 with a 6-2 victory. Li-Hsien Lin and Malak Abarkane completed the sweep with a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles.
Carey carried that momentum into singles play. Vieten defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles to extend the lead. Loyola responded with a win at No. 4 singles, but Kang answered for Carey with a three-set victory at No. 2. Loyola stayed in the match with a win at No. 6, but Lechuga sealed the victory with a straight-sets win at No. 3 singles. Chang finished the match with a three-set win at No. 5 singles.
The Lady Crusaders will next compete April 10-11 in Alexandria, Louisiana, facing LSU-Shreveport and LSU-Alexandria.
