TULSA, Okla. — The LSU women’s tennis team rebounded from its heartbreaking loss versus Auburn on Tuesday to earn a vital 5-2 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
“It was a good win for us,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “Tulsa is a talented team and beating them on the road on their home courts will really boost our confidence. The last couple weeks have been extremely hectic for us and we’re looking forward to taking advantage of having a three-match homestand.”
The Lady Tigers snapped a five-match losing streak on Wednesday and improved their overall record on the season to 8-7. With the win, LSU bolstered its mark against non-conference opponents to 8-2 in dual-match play. The Lady Tigers will return to Southeastern Conference play on Sunday against Alabama.
LSU earned the doubles point and added four singles wins over a short-handed Tulsa team on Wednesday to notch the 5-2 victory. Due to a recent rash of injuries, the Golden Hurricanes had only five healthy players and were forced to default in both No. 3 doubles and No. 6-singles play.
The LSU women’s tennis team opened the scoring against Tulsa by winning the doubles point. With the Golden Hurricanes defaulting on court No. 3, the Lady Tigers needed just one victory to earn the point and LSU’s tandem of Amy McIlhaney and Tami Botts answered the call with a 8-2 win on court No. 2.
In singles play, the Lady Tigers were victorious on courts No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5. Three-time All-American Bruna Colosio dropped Tulsa’s Alicia Pillay, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4, on court No. 1 to notch LSU’s second point of the contest.
The win marked Colosio’s second in a row and upped her overall record to 8-7 on the season.
Freshman Amanda Mang and LSU’s senior leader, McIlhaney, also accumulated their second-straight wins on Wednesday. Mang cruised past the Golden Hurricane’s Mariana Barrios, 6-3, 7-5, on court No. 4, while McIlhaney outlasted Zoe Bhuagiar in the No. 5 singles match, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1. With the wins, the Lady Tigers’ pair of Mang and McIlhaney accumulated their 18th and 17th victories of the season, respectively.
The LSU women’s tennis team will next be in action on Sunday as the Lady Tigers host the Alabama Crimson Tide at 4 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
LSU 5, Tulsa 2
Doubles
1. Sedivec/Pillay (TU) def. Colosio/Fantilli (LSU), 8-6
2. McIlhaney/Botts (LSU) def. Durska/Barrios (TU), 8-2
3. Tulsa defaulted the No. 3 position
Singles
1. Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. Alicia Pillay (TU), 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
2. Aleksandra Durska (TU) def. Tami Botts (LSU), 6-4, 6-1
3. Jana Sedivec (TU) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 7-6(4), 6-3
4. Amanda Mang (LSU) def. Mariana Barrios (TU), 6-3, 7-5
5. Amy McIlhaney (LSU) def. Zoe Buhagiar (TU), 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1
6. Tulsa defaulted the No. 6 position