Laura Ring and the Cougars play their final regular-season match this weekend, hoping to finish on a high note against Conference USA rival UAB. | Newton Liu/The Daily Cougar
After posting a 4-3 win over McNeese State on Wednesday, the Cougars will now take on Conference-USA rival UAB in their final match of the regular season at 11 a.m. Sunday at the John E. Hoff Courts.
In Wednesday’s contest against McNeese State, the Cougars battled back from a slow start and took both of the final matches in three sets each to secure the victory. Head coach John Severance was pleased with the manner in which the team battled back in the face of adversity.
“We squeaked out a win,” Severance said. “We had to be fairly resilient and win both matches that were the last two on, both in three sets. That was a good thing. It showed that we can come back.”
Severance said that he thought the team had been too confident entering into Wednesday’s match, but was happy with the final result.
“I think they underestimated McNeese a little,” he said. “But with that being said, I have told them time and time again that there are no easy matches. McNeese was playing on senior day. They had a lot of emotion. They came out firing and set the tone by winning the doubles point so we had to fight back all day. I’m proud of the way that we fought back.”
With Sunday’s match coming against a league rival it tends to take on added importance. Severance explained that there are many factors that will make for an exciting match on Sunday.
“It means a lot for a few different reasons,” Severance said. “One, it’s our last match of the year. Two, it’s our last home match of the year. It is a conference match and how well we do against UAB can determine our seeding (in the C-USA tournament) so it’s very important. UAB has beaten a few teams that have beaten us this year so we’re going to have to play well.”
Severance said that weather might be a factor in the outcome of Sunday’s game.
“There’s a little chance of rain on Sunday, so there’s a chance we might go indoors,” said Severance. “It might be an eventful Sunday.”
