COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The LSU women’s tennis team fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday as the Lady Tigers were defeated by the homestanding Texas A&M Aggies, 4-0, here at the Texas A&M Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
“Texas A&M is a very good team and those girls competed extremely well out there,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “I think that the difference in the match was the doubles point. We had numerous chances to get it and then they just jumped on us early during the singles competition.”
With LSU (12-13) trailing in the overall score match 3-0, the Aggies’ Ashley Hedberg outlasted the Lady Tigers’ Jessica Ferguson in a three-set marathon to clinch the victory and send Texas A&M to the round of 32. Hedberg, a senior from Austin, Texas, improved to 23-15 with the win.
The hometown favorite Aggies advanced to play the fourth-ranked Cal Golden Bears in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m. Cal defeated Army, 4-0, in its first-round matchup on Friday.
Texas A&M (20-10) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Friday as the Aggies registered wins on courts Nos. 2 and 3 to earn the doubles point.
After Texas A&M’s tandem of Ashley Hedberg and Lauren Walker recorded a prompt 8-5 victory on court No. 2, the Aggies’ Danielle Lee and Nicki Mechem clinched the doubles point with an identical 8-5 win on No. 3. Hedberg and Walker defeated LSU’s duo of Marina Chiarelli and Ferguson, while the Lady Tigers’ Amanda Mang and Camila Caliari were edged on court No. 3.
“I was really pleased with how our kids fought in singles,” Minnis said. “They played hard and they played pretty well, but Texas A&M is just a really tough team and they did a good job. With such a young team, I think that all of this will prove to be a learning experience for us. Playing here in this stadium, which is one of the best environments in college tennis, is always tough, especially for such a young team.”
Texas A&M, the 28th-ranked team in the nation, extended its lead to 3-0 in singles play as the Aggies picked up straight-set victories on court Nos. 5 and 1.
The Aggies’ Mechem rallied past LSU’s Caliari on court No. 5 to win her seventh-straight singles contest. After winning the first set 7-5, Mechem blanked Caliari, 6-0, in the second set to give Texas A&M a 2-0 lead in the match. With the win, Mechem improved to an impressive 30-8 overall record on the season.
On court No. 1, Texas A&M’s 71st-ranked Roland gave the Aggies a 3-0 advantage by defeating LSU’s Fantilli, 6-2, 6-3. Roland, a member of the All-Big 12 team, upped her overall record on the season to 24-13 with the win.
LSU was leading by a set in all three remaining singles matches. On court No. 6, the Lady Tigers’ Espinal was playing a match point against Texas A&M’s Seva Iwinski, while LSU’s Chiarelli and Mang had each registered first-set victories versus their Aggie counterparts on courts Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
With the victory in Friday’s first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Texas A&M extended its winning streak versus LSU to four-consecutive matches. The Lady Tigers have not defeated Texas A&M since the 2000 season and LSU trails in the all-time series 11-15.
Texas A&M (20-10) def. LSU (12-13), 4-0
Doubles
1. #35 Roland/Spencer (A&M) vs. Fantilli/Seaman (LSU), susp.
2. Hedberg/Walker (A&M) def. Chiarelli/Ferguson (LSU), 8-5
3. Lee/Mechem (A&M) def. Caliari/Mang (LSU), 8-5*
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. #71 Jessica Roland (A&M) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU), 6-2, 6-3
2. Ashley Hedberg (A&M) def. Jessica Ferguson (LSU), 6-0, 5-7, 6-1**
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) vs. Roberta Spencer (A&M), susp.
4. Amanda Mang (LSU) vs. Lauren Walker (A&M), susp.
5. Nicki Mechem (A&M) def. Camila Caliari (LSU), 7-5, 6-0
6. Daysi Espinal (LSU) vs. Seva Iwinski (A&M), susp.
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 2
* Clinched the doubles point
* * Clinched the match