BATON ROUGE — The 24th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team rallied late in singles play to defeat Auburn, 4-3, on Saturday in the Lady Tigers’ final match of the season at home in the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“We really didn’t play our best tennis today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “But to our credit we really fought well and ended up coming away with the victory. It’s been a very long season for us so far. We’re in a good position right now for the NCAA tournament, but we just need to take a couple of days off and get rested up for the upcoming Southeastern Conference tournament.”
With Auburn leading the match by a score of 3-2, LSU’s Tami Botts overcame a one set deficit to defeat Summa Edwards, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, on court No. 5 to even the total-team score at 3-3. The battle of Lady Tigers was then decided on court No. 4 as LSU’s senior Fernanda Tsucamoto clinched the Bayou Bengals’ 14th victory of the season by outlasting Auburn’s Liz Sauerborn, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Tsucamoto, who played in the final home match of her illustrious four-year career on Saturday, extended her winning streak to six-straight victories with the win and improved her overall record to 21-12 on the season. She also notched her sixth victory of the year in the No. 4 singles position and upped her dual-match record to 14-7.
“It was good to see Fernanda (Tsucamoto) win the way that she did today,” Minnis said. “She’s been a big part of our program these last four years and she deserved to end her career at home with a win. The fact that she clinched the match for us today was great for her confidence and hopefully she can keep all of her momentum going for the post-season.”
LSU improved to an overall record of 14-8 with the win and a 4-7 mark
against SEC opponents. Auburn lost its sixth-straight match and dropped toa 3-15 overall record on the season. The War Eagles remained winless in conference dual-match play and fell to an 0-10 SEC record. Auburn will play its final regular season match on Monday as they host Ole Miss at 2 p.m.
LSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Saturday’s contest as the Lady Tigers earned both the doubles point and a quick victory in No. 1 singles.
The Lady Tigers’ doubles team comprised of Amy McIlhaney and Tsucamoto clinched LSU’s opening point of the match on court No. 2 by outhitting Auburn’s combination of Carolina Ramirez and Edwards, 8-6, to secure the doubles point. LSU’s 14th-ranked pair of Bruna Colosio and Rocio Fantilli picked up the Lady Tigers’ first doubles win of the match by dropping Auburn’s Carolina Maurer and Katia Illarionova on court No. 1, 8-3.
Colosio, LSU’s ninth-ranked singles player in the nation, dominated the War Eagles’ Maurer on court No. 1, 6-2, 6-2, to finish SEC dual-match play with a perfect 10-0 record. With the win, Colosio improved to an overall record of 23-3 on the season and a 17-2 mark in No. 1 singles competition.
The 24th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team will next be in action on Thursday, April 19, as the Lady Tigers compete in the opening round of the SEC tournament in Starkville, Miss. LSU’s first-round opponent, and the time of the match are yet to be determined.
#24 LSU: 4, Auburn: 3
Singles
1. #9 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Carolina Maurer (AU), 6-2, 6-2.
2. Katia Illarionova (AU) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 6-4, 6-2.
3. Carolina Ramirez (AU) def. Lauren Haddix (LSU), 7-6(4), 6-1.
4. Fernanda Tsucamoto (LSU) def. Liz Sauerborn (AU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
5. Tami Botts (LSU) def. Summa Edwards (AU), 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
6. Martina Janska (AU) def. Mandy Rice (LSU), 6-1, 6-4.
Doubles
1. #14 Colosio/Fantilli (LSU) def. Maurer/Illarionova (AU), 8-3.
2. Tsucamoto/McIlhaney (LSU) def. Ramirez/Edwards (AU), 8-6.
3. Sauerborn/Janska (AU) def. Botts/Haddix (LSU), 8-5.