OXFORD, Miss. — The 25th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team lost for the first time in four outings on Saturday when it fell to Southeastern Conference rival Ole Miss, 5-2, in Oxford, Miss.
The loss drops the Lady Tigers to 12-7 on the season and 3-6 in SEC play. Ole Miss improves to 8-10 overall, including a 2-8 conference mark.
“It was a tough loss today,” said LSU coach Tony Minnis. “We had been playing some good tennis coming into the match, but it is always tough to win at Ole Miss and they proved that today.”
The Lady Rebels opened a 1-0 lead early by winning the doubles point and then took four of six singles matches for the 5-2 win.
Only ninth-ranked Bruna Colosio and Fernanda Tsucamoto were able to win in singles as they did at Nos. 1 and 5, respectively. Colosio outlasted Julie DeRoo at the top spot for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory.
Tsucamoto beat Karem Harboe in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, on court five.
Ole Miss was strong in the middle of the line up as they scored straight-set wins at Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Janna Katri-Aalto beat LSU’s Lauren Haddix at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, 6-2, and Mira Radu won over Tami Botts, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4.
Lady Tiger freshman Rocio Fantilli took a close 6-4, 7-5, defeat at the hands of Aleysa Ignatieva on court three. Sabrina Peppl’s 6-4, 6-4, win over Amy McIlhaney at No. 6 was the other singles victory for the Lady Rebels.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday when they face South Carolina in Columbia at 2 p.m.
Ole Miss 5, LSU 2
Singles
No. 1 – Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Julie DeRoo (UM), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
No. 2 – Hanna-Katri Aalto (UM) def. Lauren Haddix (LSU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Aleysa Ignatieva (UM) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 4 – Mira Radu (UM) def. Tami Botts (LSU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 – Fernanda Tsucamoto (LSU) def. Karem Harboe (UM), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Sabrina Peppl (UM) def. Amy McIlhaney (LSU), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 – Colosio-Fantilli (LSU) def. DeRoo-Adams (UM), 8-1
No. 2 – Aalto-Ignatieva (UM) def. McIlhaney-Tsucamoto (LSU), 8-5
No. 3 – Radu-Harboe (UM) def. Botts-Haddix (LSU), 8-2