This post was written by Hatchet reporter Aaron Esparza.

After skyrocketing into the International Tennis Association’s national tennis rankings last week, the Colonials began their southern swing through Louisiana with their first major test against No. 62 Louisiana-Lafayette.

In a constant back-and-forth struggle, GW proved that they truly deserve their new ranking, coming away with a 4-3 win to stretch their win streak to six and bring their overall record to 7-4 on the season.

From the very first point in doubles play, it was clear that nothing would be easy about for either side. The No. 1 duo of junior Francisco Dias and freshman Julius Tverijonas defeated UL Lafayette’s Hunter Johnson and Yates Johnson, 8-5. The No. 3 senior tandem of Viktor Svensson and Ulrik Thomsen, though, ended their five-match win streak with a 3-8 loss.

With the doubles point still undecided, sophomore Danil Zelenkov and senior Nikita Fomin looked to give GW the early lead. They struggled early, though, falling behind 3-7, but in a stunning finish, scored the last four points to win the set and the doubles point.

In singles, the Colonials appeared to have all the momentum, as the series began with the one truly lopsided match of the day: Fomin’s 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jake Wynan at the No. 1 position. The rest of singles, however, was much closer with tight losses from Tverijonas, Thomsen and Dias, as well as an equally close win from Zelenkov.

With the match score tied at 3-3, the No. 4 match between Viktor Svensson and Jarred Wynan came down to the wire. The players traded blows in the first two sets, 6-3, 3-6, and in the end, experience paid off, as the veteran Svennson comfortably concluded the match with a 6-2 third-set win.

The Colonials will look to finish off their spring break tour of Louisiana with a match Wednesday against Tulane (9-4) and Thursday against LSU (7-7).