CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The LSU women’s tennis team was defeated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, as the Lady Tigers were knocked off by the Furman Paladins, 4-1, at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“We just got outplayed today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “Being moved indoors due to the rain really put us at a disadvantage, but it’s not an excuse for losing the match. Furman played some outstanding tennis and they were obviously the better team out there today.”
The NCAA Tournament first round match was moved indoors due to an incessant rain storm that moved through Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday morning. The delay pushed the contest’s start time from 9 a.m. (Central time) to approximately 9:45 a.m.
With Furman leading the overall score of the match 3-1, Mary Neill Hagood secured the winning point with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over LSU’s Amanda Mang at No. 4 singles. The Paladins also earned singles victories at courts No. 2 and No. 6. Mary Kovarik defeated the Lady Tigers’ Rocio Fantilli, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 2 and Caroline Bentley won a straight-set contest on court No. 6 over Bonnie White, 6-1, 6-1.
LSU’s lone point of the contest came at the No. 1 position when the Tigers’ 40th-ranked Bruna Colosio defeated Furman’s Megan Dunigan, 6-3, 6-4. With the victory, Colosio upped her overall record on the season to 17-8 and moved into sole position of 10th place on LSU’s all-time win list with 96 career singles victories.
The Paladins claimed an early advantage in Saturday’s contest, as Furman won the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Caroline Bentley and Mary Kovarik defeated LSU’s Tami Botts and Amy McIlhaney, 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, while the Tigers did not fair much better on court No. 3 as Furman’s Mary Neil Hagood and Gene Holman upended Perri Budd and Amanda Mang, 8-4.
Furman advanced to play the seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday at noon here at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Furman 4, LSU 1
Singles
1. #40 Bruna Colosio (LSU) def. #51 Megan Dunigan (Furman), 6-3, 6-4
2. Mary Kovarik (Furman) def. Racio Fantilli (LSU), 6-0, 6-3
3. Tami Botts (LSU) vs. Gene Holman (Furman), suspended
4. Mary Neill Hagood (Furman) def. Amanda Mang (LSU), 6-3, 7-5*
5. Amy McIlhaney (LSU) vs. Natalie The (Furman), suspended
6. Carolina Bentley (Furman) def. Bonnie White (LSU), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Megan Dunigan/Natalie The (Furman) vs. Bruna Colosio/Rocio Fantilli (LSU), suspended
2. Caroline Bentley/Mary Kovarik (Furman) def. Tami Botts/Amy McIlhaney (LSU), 8-3
3. Mary Neil Hagood/Gene Holman (Furman) def. Perri Budd/Amanda Mang (LSU), 8-4