NEW ORLEANS – The No. 8-seeded Texas State women's tennis team came from behind to defeat No. 9-seeded UL Lafayette by a score of 4-2 in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the City Parks Tennis Center on Thursday morning.
 
The Bobcats and Ragin' Cajuns split the first four matches with Texas State winning on the No. 3 and No. 6 courts for its first two points.
 
Texas State's first point of the day came when Pippa Carr overpowered Elena Sava to win the No. 3 match in straight sets by a score of 6-4, 6-3. After Carr won the opening set, she won the first three points in the second set before going on to win the match.
 
Katy Collins won her No. 6 match against Lauren Dupuis in dominant fashion after winning the first set by a score of 6-0. After Dupuis won the first point in the second set, Collins answered by winning six straight points to capture the victory.
 
The day began with the Ragin' Cajuns taking an early 1-0 lead when Ana Laura Gutierrez dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision against Kelly Drew on the No. 1 court.
 
After Carr tied the score at 1-1, the Ragin' Cajuns regained a 2-1 lead when Monica Pieratt fell 6-1, 6-3 against Nelo Phiri in the No. 2 match.
 
Texas State took its first lead in the match when Shannon Beckett defeated Abby Johnson on the No. 5 court. Beckett won the first set by a score of 6-0. After trailing 3-2, she came back to win the second set by a score of 7-5 for the victory.
 
The most compelling match of the day came on the No. 4 court where Eva Dench secured the victory for the Bobcats. Dench won the first set by a score of 6-4, before Way came back to capture the second by a score of 6-3. In the third set, the score was tied at 5-5 before Dench won the final two points for the win.
 
The victory improves Texas State's overall record to 9-6 this season and gives the Bobcats their first win in a conference tournament since 2011. Texas State advances to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament against top-seeded South Alabama on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m.