MALIBU, Calif. — The LSU women’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 win over Ohio State.
“I am happy for the girls,” said coach Tony Minnis. “They all played their hearts out today and advancing to the second round is their reward.”
The Tigers, 13-10 after the win, will square off with No. 8 Pepperdine in round two. The host Waves routed Boston University 5-0 in the first match of the day at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
LSU will again be without senior Nikki Rasheed for the match against favored Pepperdine. Rasheed, the teams lone senior missed the match Saturday due to a death in the family.
In Rasheed’s place, Mandy Rice and Kelly Craycraft were forced to step up a position and each proved up to the task. Rice, playing No. 5, beat Claudia Castro 6-3, 6-4 to halt a personal four match losing streak. Craycraft, who usually only plays doubles for the Tigers, stepped up and defeated Laura Maloney, 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 6 spot.
“Mandy and Kelly really steppud up for us today to give us two crucial wins,” said Minnis. “Hopefully they can do the same for us tomorrow.”
LSU also picked up points at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. No. 55 Bruna Colosio out hit 66th-ranked Kristy Dascoli for a 6-4, 6-3 win. Ana Paula Mores topped Michelle Matko 6-4, 6-1 to help the Tigers to a 4-0 lead.
However, Ohio State refused to quit as they battled back for three-set wins at Nos. 3 and 4 singles to cut the Tiger lead to 4-2 heading into the doubles play.
There, the No. 39 doubles team of Colosio-Mores upended No. 17 Dascoli-Harris 8-5 to clinch the match. It is the fifth match-clinching point for the duo on the year.
SINGLES
No. 1 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Kristy Dascoli, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Ana Paula Mores (LSU) def. Michelle Matko, 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 Brianna Harris (OSU) def. Fernanda Tsucamoto, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 Monica Rincon (OSU) def. Tami Botts, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1)
No. 5 Mandy Rice (LSU) def. Claudia Castro, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Kelly Craycraft (LSU) def. Laura Maloney, 7-5, 6-3
DOUBLES
No. 1 Colosio-Mores (LSU) def. Dascoli-Harris, 8-5
No. 2 Botts-Tsucamoto (LSU) vs. Matko-Rincon, suspended
No. 3 Craycraft-Rice (LSU) vs. Castro-Maloney, suspended