Men and women’s tennis wrapped up their fall seasons with some record firsts.
The women’s team opened the season ranked number nine in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics preseason rankings—their highest preseason ranking in program history—and third in the Southern States Athletic Conference rankings.
“It’s nice to see the work we’ve put in over four years being recognized,” said head coach Matthew Llewellyn. “That said, being picked third should hopefully give us motivation to finish higher.” 
The women started their season at the NAIA ITA Gulf Regional and saw a standout performance from graduate student Lucy Carpenter, who reached the championship round in singles play. This achievement was the furthest a Wolf Pack player has ever gone in singles at that tournament.
Carpenter’s efforts booked her a spot in the ITA Cup for the fourth consecutive season as one of the top 16 women’s players in the NAIA, where she posted a 2-1 record, highlighted by a victory against the number nine player in the NAIA at the time.
“It’s an amazing and historic achievement for her,” Llewellyn said. “Prior to Lucy, no Loyola tennis player had ever qualified for this event. It’s one of many ways Lucy has helped put Loyola tennis on the map.”
The season ended for the women at the Dillard Invitational, which was hosted by local rivals Dillard University and saw a doubles victory for juniors Avery Frierson and Adele Fereres, plus the competitive debut of freshman Bianca Harris.
“Bianca has had a great fall training block and has improved significantly,” Llewellyn said. “We’re really motivated to showcase what we’ve been working on.”
The men’s team was projected to finish fourth in the conference preseason polls after an injury-filled season last spring. The team looked to improve on last season’s struggles.
“We’re installing a new system and the men have really taken to it,” said Llewellyn. “It focuses on high energy, positivity, while giving them tools to help combat the adversity college tennis matches present.”
The fall season began for the men with a trip to Thibodeaux, Louisiana for the Nicholls State Invitational that saw them compete against four Division I programs.
“The men performed really well at the Nicholls tournament,” said Llewellyn. “The year before we played this event and got chopped, so to compete against three NCAA Division 1 teams as well as we did was encouraging.”
A notable performance came from the doubles team of senior Samuel Motazed and junior Sam Izrael, who beat two Division I opponents from Nicholls State and Lamar University.
The men would also wrap their fall season at the Dillard Invitational and saw Izrael make it to the semi final round of the singles tournament before losing to a player from Xavier University of Louisiana.
Coach Llewellyn hopes that the experience both teams were able to gather and the lessons they were able to learn in the fall will carry over into the spring portion of the season.
“We want to continue to build the foundation this spring and keep learning and developing as a team,” he said.
