HOUSTON — After rain delayed play on Friday morning, the LSU women’s tennis team opened the 2003 fall season with a pair of singles and doubles wins on the first day of the Rice Tennis Classic held at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
In the first round of the 16-player singles Grey Flight, LSU’s Lauren Seaman defeated Thais Burtoletto of Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-3, 6-3, while Camila Caliari upended Texas-San Antonio’s Tasja Fuhrig in three sets.
Meanwhile, in the first round of the doubles Blue Flight, both LSU teams advanced to the second round before being defeated. Daysi Espinal and Caliari defeated Rice’s Lauren Archer and Karen Chao, 9-8, and the LSU team of Marina Chiarelli and Seaman beat Lee College’s Medeia Egic and Tatyana Bala, 8-6.
“I saw some positives and negatives out there today, and I know that we could have competed much harder,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “We had our ups and downs, but it’s early in the season and we’ve got a lot of time to fix the things we need to work on.”
The Lady Tigers return to the court on Saturday for both singles and doubles matches as the Rice Tennis Classic continues through Sunday.
Rice Tennis Classic
Houston, Texas
Sept. 26, 2003
Blue Flight Singles First Round
#76 Tracie Chong (RICE) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Lauren Archer (RICE) def. Marina Chiarelli (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
Grey Flight Singles First Round
Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Thais Burtoletto (ULL), 6-3, 6-3
Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Tasja Fuhrig (UTSA), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
White Flight Singles First Round
Annie Goodrich (RICE) def. Bonnie White (LSU), 6-0, 6-4
Blue Flight Doubles First Round
Espinal/Caliari (LSU) def. Archer/Chao (RICE), 9-8
Chiarelli/Seaman (LSU) def. Egic/Bala (LEE), 8-6
Blue Flight Doubles Second Round
Martin/Martin (YALE) def. Espinal/Caliari (LSU), 8-2
Rhazi/Martin (HOUSTON) def. Chiarelli/Seaman (LSU), 8-3