Corley Advances to NCAA Singles Round of 16
Orlando, Fla. – LSU Women’s Tennis senior Paris Corley came from behind to hand Iowa’s Alexa Noel her first defeat of the season to advance to the NCAA Singles Tournament Round of 16 on Monday afternoon at the USTA Campus.
Orlando, Fla. – LSU Women’s Tennis senior Paris Corley came from behind to hand Iowa’s Alexa Noel her first defeat of the season to advance to the NCAA Singles Tournament Round of 16 on Monday afternoon at the USTA Campus.
With the win, Corley improves to 21-4 on the season, moves on to the Round of 16, and earns a spot on the 2021 ITA Singles All-American team. With the defat, Noel finishes a stellar season at 24-1.
Selling Points
“We’re really proud of Paris for winning today and joining the elite in the All-American group,” co-head coach Michael Sell said. “She’s improved so much since she came to LSU in 2018 and we couldn’t be more excited for her to be finishing her collegiate career in such strong fashion. She played stellar tennis today and did well to fend off one of the best players in college tennis. She’ll enjoy the win before shifting focus to a big Round of 16 match tomorrow.”
Paris Corley vs. Alexa Noel
Corley struck first in the first set and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Noel won the next game and was able to hold Corley off at game point multiple times over the set as she went on to win the next five and claim the first set 6-1.
Noel took an early 2-0 lead in the second before Corley replied by winning the next three games to take a 3-2 lead. Corley went on to win the next three out of four games to claim a 6-3 set win and force a third set to decide the match winner.
The third set was a tight contest, with the two opening by trading games back and forth. Corley narrowly pulled away to make it 5-3 before Noel was able to bring it back by winning the next two games and extending the set at 5-5. Corley won the next set to make it 6-5 and went on secure match point while up 40-30 with a forehand shot to the corner line to book her spot in the next round.
Up Next
Corley will face SEC opposition in the Round of 16 in the fashion of Auburn’s Selin Ovunc on Tuesday, May 25, time to be decided.
Ovunc enters the match with a 15-10 record having played at the No. 1 singles spot for Auburn all season. In the first round of the NCAA Singles Tournament, Ovunc upset No. 5 Kenya Jones from Georgia Tech in a 7-5, 6-3, straight set win. She carried momentum over to her second-round match against Missouri’s Bronte Murgett in a three-set thriller that saw her come from behind to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Ovunc and Corley have met one time in their collegiate careers; in the semi-finals of the 2019 Fall ITA Southern Regional, a match that Corley won in straight sets by a 7-5, 7-6(0) margin.
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NCAA Round of 32
#60 Paris Corley (LSU) def. #14 Alexa Noel (IOWA) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5