COLUMBUS, Ohio — After knocking off Notre Dame’s Lauren Connelly, 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (3), in her early match on Saturday, LSU’s Rocio Fantilli fell to Ohio State’s second-seeded Erica Fisk in the quarterfinal round of the OSU/Prince Cup here in Columbus, Ohio.
“Rocio has played some really good tennis here this weekend,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “She’s been competing with a lot of confidence and I’ve been impressed with her performance. She lost a tough match today in the quarterfinals, but Fisk is one of the nation’s top players.”
Fisk, the 69th-ranked singles player in the nation, defeated Fantilli in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the semifinal round of the OSU Prince Cup. She will face Notre Dame’s No. 3-seeded Alicia Salas on Sunday at 9 a.m.
Despite the loss on Saturday, LSU’s Fantilli ended the three-day competition with a solid 2-1 overall singles record. She handily defeated Ohio State’s Lindsay Bryan, 6-2, 6-1, on Friday.
LSU’s Amanda Mang and Lauren Seaman also picked up victories in singles play on Saturday. In the consolation draw of the singles tournament here at the Stickney Tennis Center, Mang rallied past Baylor’s Izabela Mijic, 6-3, 6-2, while Seaman outlasted Baylor’s Alison Bradley, 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (9).
“We’ve looked really good in this season-opening event,” Minnis said. “We have an extremely young team, but they’ve been playing with a lot of composure and they haven’t really gotten rattled. They’ve all fought until the last point in their matches and I’m proud of that.”
In doubles play, the Tigers’ tandem comprised of Fantilli and Seaman posted an 8-4 victory over Eastern Michigan’s Kansuthi/Clarki before barely falling in the semifinal round to Penn State’s Wang/Marton, 9-8 (5). With the loss in a tiebreaker, LSU’s combination of Fantilli/Seaman fell one match short of reaching the doubles championship match.
LSU’s doubles team of Marina Chiarelli and Mang earned a victory in the consolation bracket of the doubles tournament on Saturday. The Tigers’ duo defeated Ohio State’s tandem of Bowen/Adams, 8-5.
Play will resume in the 2002 Ohio State Prince Cup at 9 a.m. on Sunday with the semifinal round of the singles tournament at the Stickney Tennis Center here in Columbus, Ohio.
2002 OSU/Prince Cup
Singles Main Draw
Round of 16
#3 Alicia Salas (ND) def. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) 6-2, 6-7 (3) 1-0 (4)
#5-8 Rocio Fantilli (LSU) def. Lauren Connelly (ND) 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (3)
Quarterfinals
#2 Erica Fisk (OSU) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
Double Jeopardy Singles
Maggie Donohue (ND) def. Bonnie White (LSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (4)
Main Draw 2nd Round Losses
Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Alison Bradley (BU) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (9)
Amanda Mang (LSU) def. Izabela Mijic (BU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
Quarterfinals
Fantilli/Seaman (LSU) def. Kansuthi/Clarki (EMU) 8-4
Semifinals
Wang/Marton (PSU) def. Fantilli/Seaman (LSU) 9-8 (5)
Backdraw
Mang/Chiarelli (LSU) def. Bowen/Adams (OSU) 8-5
Leskovar/Williams (OSU) def. Mang/Chiarelli (LSU) 8-5