WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The LSU women’s tennis team won the doubles point, but fell apart in singles play on Wednesday as the Lady Tigers were defeated by the Purdue Boilermakers, 5-2, on the road in West Lafayette, Ind.
“We just didn’t play well at all in singles today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “Even in the doubles competition, we didn’t play our best, but we did whatever it took to win the point. Hopefully, we can recover from this defeat and use it as a learning point for the rest of the season. We had won three-straight matches and I think that we were a little complacent today.”
With the loss, LSU snapped its three-match winning streak and dropped to an overall record of 11-11 on the season. Prior to Wednesday’s defeat, the Lady Tigers had registered victories over No. 26 Tulane, 4-3, Mississippi State, 5-2, and the Ole Miss Lady Rebels, 4-3. LSU fell to a 3-5 record on the road this season.
Purdue improved to an overall record of 9-9 on the season and extended its winning streak to three matches on Wednesday. The victory was also the Boilermakers’ third win over a ranked opponent during the 2003 dual-match campaign. Earlier this season, Purdue knocked off No. 43 Missouri, 4-3, and the 47th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-3.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Purdue and say that they came out to play today and we didn’t,” Minnis said. “They always seem to play well on their home court and they certainly did today. I thought that the weather was a factor in the match, but that’s no excuse for our team. We didn’t do well and we need to play better against Arkansas on Saturday.”
LSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Wednesday as the Lady Tigers captured the doubles point with wins on courts Nos. 1 and 2.
The Lady Tigers’ 43rd-ranked combination of Rocio Fantilli and Lauren Seaman posted an 8-5 win over Purdue’s Missy Wright and Lara Burgarello on court No. 1, while LSU’s No. 2 tandem comprised of Jessica Ferguson and Marina Chiarelli defeated the Boilermakers’ duo of Shawna Zuccarini and Melissa Woods, 9-7. With the win, Ferguson and Chiarelli improved to a 2-2 mark on the season.
Chiarelli registered the Lady Tigers’ lone singles win on Wednesday as the native of Curitiba, Brazil, outlasted Purdue’s Melissa Iqbal, 3-6, 7-5, 3-0 (ret.), on court No. 4. With the victory, Chiarelli upped her overall record on the season to 18-14. LSU’s persistent freshman leads the team in singles wins with 18.
The LSU women’s tennis team will next be in action on Saturday, April 12, as the Lady Tigers travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for their Southeastern Conference finale versus the Arkansas Lady ‘Backs at 1 p.m.
Purdue (9-9) def. LSU (11-11), 5-2
Doubles
1. #43 Fantilli/Seaman (LSU) def. Wright/Burgarello (PU), 8-5
2. Ferguson/Chiarelli (LSU) def. Zuccarini/Melissa Woods (PU), 9-7
3. Iqbal/Haynor (PU) def. Espinal/Caliari (LSU), 8-1
Singles
1. Gretchen Haynor (PU) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-0(6)
2. #114 Amy Walgenbach (PU) def. Jessica Ferguson (LSU), 6-3, 6-3
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Melissa Iqbal (PU), 3-6, 7-5, 3-0(ret.)
4. Shawna Zuccarini (PU) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU), 6-0, 6-2
5. Missy Wright (PU) def. Camila Caliari (LSU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Lara Burgarello (PU) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU), 6-1, 7-5