PALO ALTO, Calif. — The LSU tennis team comprised of Amy McIlhaney and Fernanda Tsucamoto of the Lady Tigers, along with Ajay Ramaswami and Dan Kiernan of the men’s team was knocked out of the WingspanBank.com/WTT National Collegiate Tennis Championships on Saturday with a 23-20 loss to Southern California.
“This was another very close match that we played in today,” said LSU men’s head coach Jeff Brown. “It was a shame that we had to lose, but I am still very proud of how both our women and men played today against USC. Even though we are out of the tournament, I am still optimistic about our chances this season.”
The match was decided in overtime where USC’s Tiffany Brymer and Nick Rainey defeated LSU’s Kiernan and McIlhaney, 1-0, in mixed doubles. The Tigers forced overtime when Kiernan and McIlhaney were victorious over the same USC mixed doubles team, 6-4, in regulation.
The Trojans jumped out to an early 6-1 lead over the Tigers in the women’s doubles match where Brymer and Jewel Peterson outscored LSU’s McIlhaney and Tsucamoto, 6-1. The Tigers then forged a 13-12 lead with wins by Ramaswami, 6-2, in men’s singles, and a 6-4 decision over Rainey and Ryan Moore in the men’s doubles match.
In the women’s singles match, Southern California took the lead to stay with a 6-1 victory. USC’s Peterson defeated the Lady Tigers’ Tsucamoto to solidify the win.
“This was a tough loss for us today,” said LSU head women’s coach Tony Minnis. “We played our hearts out, but we still fell short. We just need to bounce back from this loss and get ready for our next competition.”
The Tigers’ and Lady Tigers’ next competition will be in the ITA All-American Tournament. The men will begin play in Stone Mountain, Ga., on October 9, while the women will start October 17 in Los Angelos, Calif.