MALIBU, Calif. — The 32nd-ranked LSU women’s tennis team outplayed the 42nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in doubles Friday afternoon to win, 5-3, in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships held in Malibu, Calif.
The Lady Tigers move on to face the sixth-ranked Pepperdine Waves Sunday at 5 p.m (Central Time) in the NCAA Second Round. Pepperdine defeated Drake, 5-0.
“We beat an incredibly talented team today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “I’m extremely proud of our girls. They hung in there all the way. They never gave up, especially when they had their backs against the wall and it looked as if Iowa was picking up some momentum.”
After singles play, the score was tied at three apiece. LSU won on courts No. 1, 2, and 4. Eleventh-ranked Bruna Colosio picked up her 33rd victory of the season by defeating Iowa’s Shera Wigler, 6-1, 7-6, on court No. 1.
At No. 2 singles, the Lady Tigers’ lone senior and team leader, Ana Paula Mores, finished off the Hawkeyes’ Toni Neykova, 7-5, 6-3, to earn LSU’s first point of the match.
Mores’ victory was her 32nd of the season and the 96th of her illustrious four-year career. The win moved her into sole possession of ninth-place on LSU’s all-time winning list. She had been tied with Carol Boston, who accumulated 95 victories during her career as a Lady Tiger during 1978-1983.
In the final singles match of the competition, the Lady Tigers’ Tami Botts outlasted Iowa’s Mega Kearney on court No. 4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
“Tami did great job for us today,” Minnis said. “The team as a whole didn’t play very well in singles, but Tami came through for us in the clutch and picked up a huge singles win.”
With the score tied at three in doubles play, LSU’s team comprised of Botts and Lauren Haddix trounced the Hawkeyes’ Erica Johnson and Kearney, 8-1, to extend the Lady Tigers’ lead to 4-3.
Four hours and fifteen minutes into the match, the Lady Tigers clinched a NCAA Tournament second-round birth with an 8-6 come from behind win at No. 1 doubles. LSU’s third-ranked duo of Colosio/Mores defeated Iowa’s 14th-ranked team of Wiegler and Neykova.
“Today was a very tough match for us,” said Minnis. “And tomorrow is definitely not going to get any easier for us. Pepperdine is the No. 6 ranked team in the nation. They are playing on their home court, and they are very talented. We just have to come out tomorrow and play the way that we are capable of playing.”
The 32nd-ranked LSU Lady Tigers will face either the 6th-ranked Pepperdine Waves or the Drake Lady Bulldogs Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (Central Time) in Malibu, Calif., for a spot in the NCAA Championships.
#32 LSU 5, #42 IOWA 3
SINGLES
No. 1 – #11 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Shera Wiegler (IOWA), 6-1, 7-6.
No. 2 – #80 Ana Paula Mores (LSU) def. Toni Neykova (IOWA), 7-5, 6-3.
No. 3 – Natalya Dawaf (IOWA) def. Fernanda Tsucamoto (LSU), 6-2, 6-1.
No. 4 – Tami Botts (LSU) def. Mega Kearney (IOWA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
No. 5 – Erica Johnson (IOWA) def. Lauren Haddix (LSU), 6-4, 7-6.
No. 6 – Steffi Hoch (IOWA) def. Amy McIlhaney (LSU), 6-1, 6-3, 4-6.
DOUBLES
No. 1 – #3 Colosio/Mores (LSU) def. #14 Neykova/Wiegler (IOWA), 8-6.
No. 2 – SUSPENDED
No. 3 – Botts/Haddix (LSU) def. Johnson/Kearney (IOWA), 8-1.