BATON ROUGE — The 26th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team defeated Houston, 7-2, Saturday afternoon at “Dub” Robinson Stadium. The Lady Tigers swept the singles round of competition which allowed them to improve to an overall record of 6-1 on the season.
“I knew that we had to improve our singles play in order to pick up a win against this Houston team,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “The girls played great in singles today by sweeping them, and then we were able to coast through doubles.”
In doubles, Houston won its only two matches of the day on courts two and three. The Lady Tigers’ duo of Bruna Colosio and Erin Fedas swept their match on court No. 3 by the score of 8-0. Colosio/Fedas defeated Houston’s Kailey Meisinger and Annie Rapp.
Only one of the singles matches lasted three rounds as LSU’s 12th-ranked Colosio lost the first set on court No. 1 to Houston’s Galina Seliounina. Colosio came back from the one set deficit to win, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
The Lady Tigers’ senior captain and 70th-ranked Ana Paula Mores handily defeated Houston’s Joanna Cunliffe, 6-2, 6-1. The win extended Mores’ winning streak to eight matches in a row. On court No. 3, LSU’s Fernanda Tsucamoto fought her way to a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory over Mette Sigmundstad.
“Houston is a very good team,” Minnis said. “Our girls just came out with a lot of enthusiasm in singles today, and the momentum allowed us to pick up the win.”
LSU won on courts No. 4-6 as sophomore Tami Botts defeated Jen Baccaroni, 6-3, 6-3, on No. 4. Freshman Lauren Haddix beat Annie Rapp, 6-3, 6-1, on No. 5, and junior Mandy Rice was victorious on No. 6 over Karine Urbin, 6-3, 6-0. Rice’s win was her seventh straight on the season.
LSU looks to keep its 13-match home winning streak alive versus non-conference opponents on Sunday against Harvard. The match between the 26th-ranked Lady Tigers and Harvard will begin at 1 p.m. at “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
–agate to follow–
LSU: 7, HOUSTON: 2
SINGLES
No. 1 #12 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Galina Seliounina (HOU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
No. 2 #70 Ana Paula Mores (LSU) def. Joanna Cunliffe (HOU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Fernanda Tsucamoto (LSU) def. Mette Sigmundstad (HOU), 6-4, 7-6(6).
No. 4 Tami Botts (LSU) def. Jen Baccarani (HOU), 6-3, 6-3.
No. 5 Lauren Haddix (LSU) def. Annie Rapp (HOU), 6-3, 6-1.
No. 6 Mandy Rice (LSU) def. Karine Urbin (HOU), 6-3, 6-0.
DOUBLES
No. 1 Selounina/Sigmundstad (HOU) def. Tsucamoto/McIlhaney (LSU), 8-6.
No. 2 Cunliffe/Baccaroni (HOU) def. Haddix/Craycraft (LSU), 8-4.
No. 3 Colosio/Fedas (LSU) def. Meisinger/Rapp (HOU), 8-0.