BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team defeated the Ole Miss LadyRebels for the first time in 11 years on Sunday as the Lady Tigers posted a 4-3 victory in their final home match of the 2003 season at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“I’m really proud of that effort,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “I mean, we’re starting five new players and we’re really starting to play some good tennis now. We’re working our way up and we have a little bit of a streak going. I’m just proud. It was a windy day, nasty weather, but our team fought extremely hard.”
With the win, LSU claimed its third straight victory and upped its overall record on the season to 11-10. The Lady Tigers also improved their Southeastern Conference record to 3-7 and snapped a 13-match losing streak against Ole Miss. Prior to Sunday, LSU’s most recent victory over the Lady Rebels was a 5-1 triumph in 1991.
LSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Sunday’s Western Division contest by winning the doubles point.
On court No. 3, the Lady Tigers’ freshman tandem of Camila Caliari and Daysi Espinal defeated Ole Miss’ Florencia Basile and Karem Harboe, 8-5, while LSU’s combination of Jessica Ferguson and Marina Chiarelli clinched the crucial doubles point with an 8-5 win over the Lady Rebels’ Audra Adams and Sabrina Peppl on court No. 2. With the victory, Ferguson and Chiarelli improved their dual-match record to 8-5 on the season.
The LSU women’s tennis team quickly clinched its third SEC victory of the season on Sunday as the Lady Tigers reeled off three straight wins in singles play on courts Nos. 6, 3 and 5.
Lauren Seaman, LSU’s gifted freshman from Metairie, cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Adams on court No. 6, while Chiarelli registered a 6-2, 6-4 win against Basile in the No. 3 singles matchup. With the win, Chiarelli upped her overall record on the season to 17-14.
LSU’s Caliari earned the match-clinching victory on court No. 5 and gave the Lady Tigers a 4-0 lead in the contest. LSU’s boisterous freshman from Maringa, Brazil, defeated Ole Miss’ Virginia Tomatis in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The win marked her second straight clinching victory and improved her dual-match record to 12-8 on the season.
“Ole Miss is a solid team, but today we just came out and took care of business,” Minnis said. “We have five new kids on the team this season, and to be honest with you, it’s hard to know what to expect. A lot of times it’s been a roller-coaster ride, but right now we’re playing solid, consistent tennis and hopefully we’ll be able to keep it up.”
Ole Miss (6-13, 2-8 SEC) won the final three singles matches on Sunday to close the final score to 4-3. The Lady Rebels’ 25th-ranked Mira Radu held on to defeat LSU’s Rocio Fantilli, 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-0(7), on court No. 1, while Ole Miss’ Harboe outlasted Ferguson, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, on court No. 2 and Peppl rallied past Espinal, 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 4 singles contest.
The LSU women’s tennis team will next be in action on Wednesday, April 9, as the Lady Tigers travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for a non-conference matchup against the Purdue Lady Boilermakers at 1 p.m.
LSU (11-10, 3-7 SEC) def. Ole Miss (6-13, 2-8 SEC), 4-3
Doubles
1. #44 Radu/Tomatis (UM) def. Fantilli/Seaman (LSU), 9-7
2. Ferguson/Chiarelli (LSU) def. Adams/Peppl (UM), 8-5*
3. Caliari/Espinal (LSU) def. Basile/Harboe (UM), 8-5
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #25 Mira Radu (UM) Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-0(7)
2. Karem Harboe (UM) def. Jessica Ferguson (LSU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Florencia Basile (UM), 6-2, 6-4
4. Sabrina Peppl (UM) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Virginia Tomatis (UM), 6-2, 6-4**
6. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Audra Adams (UM), 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5, 4, 1, 2
* Clinched the doubles point
** Clinched the match