BATON ROUGE The LSU women’s tennis team defeated the Harvard Crimson Tide Sunday at “Dub” Robinson Stadium by the score of 8-1. The win improved the Lady Tigers’ record to 7-1, while Harvard dropped to 3-2.
“We played good, smart tennis out there today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “We didn’t try to force the issue and make a lot of mistakes by going for the big shots, instead we picked our spots and played smart.”
LSU extended its home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 14 matches in a row Sunday. The last time that the Lady Tigers were defeated at home by a non-conference opponent was February of 1998. Texas A&M pulled off a 5-4 victory in that matchup.
The Lady Tigers clinched the win over Harvard in singles play as sophomore Tami Botts defeated Andrea Magyera in a third set tie-breaker to pick up LSU’s fifth point. The score in the match was 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
On courts No. 1 and No. 2, LSU’s 12th-ranked Bruna Colosio and 70thranked Ana Paula Mores were each victorious over their Harvard counterparts. Colosio won on court No. 1, 6-2, 7-5, as she defeated Vedica Jain. Mores cruised past Sanaz Ghazal, 6-2, 6-2, to pick up her ninthstraight victory in singles matches.
“All of the girls did a great job in singles today,” Minnis said. “I was extremely proud of each and every one of them. I hope that they can keep up this momentum for next week’s matchup against second-ranked Florida in Gainesville.”
Junior Fernanda Tsucamoto and freshman Lauren Haddix were also winners in singles play. Tsucamoto defeated Sanja Bajin on court No. 3, 6-3, 6-4, while Haddix scorched Fleur Broughton, 6-0, 6-2, in 45 minutes on court No. 5.
The Lady Tigers swept the doubles competition in Sunday’s match with Harvard. The 16thranked duo of Mores/Colosio beat Ghazal/Bajin, 8-1, in No. 1 doubles. McIlhaney/Tsucamoto were victorious over Jain/Magyera, 8-4, in No. 2 doubles, and Kelly Craycraft/Haddix defeated Sarah McGinty/Broughton, 8-4, in No. 3 doubles.
The Lady Tigers will next be in action against the second-ranked team in the nation as they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Florida Gators. The match between LSU and Florida will take place Saturday, February 26 at noon.
LSU: 8, HARVARD: 1
SINGLES
No. 1 #12 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Vedica Jain (HARV), 6-2, 7-5.
No. 2 #70 Ana Paula Mores (LSU) def. Sanaz Ghazal (HARV), 6-2, 6-2.
No. 3 Fernanda Tsucamoto (LSU) def. Sanja Bajin (HARV), 6-3, 6-4.
No. 4 Tami Botts (LSU) def. Andrea Magyera (HARV), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3).
No. 5 Lauren Haddix (LSU) def. Fleur Broughton (HARV), 6-0, 6-2.
No. 6 Jennie Timoney (HARV) def. Mandy Rice (LSU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
DOUBLES
No. 1 #16 Colosio/Mores (LSU) def. Ghazal/Bajin (HARV), 8-1.
No. 2 McIlhaney/Tsucamoto (LSU) def. Jain/Magyera (HARV), 8-4.
No. 3 Kelly Craycraft/Haddix (LSU) def. Sarah McGinty/Broughton (HARV), 8-4.