BATON ROUGE — LSU knocked of its second-consecutive top-20 opponent Friday when it ousted No. 15 Kentucky, 4-3 to earn its first SEC win.
LSU sophomore Lauren Seaman overcame an early deficit to clinch the match for the Lady Tigers. She lost her first set to Liis Sober and trailed in the second before coming back to win that set. Seaman dominated her third set to earn the 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win.
“Lauren’s back was against the wall,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “She came back and tied her second set score, 4-4. Then she figured out what she had to do and she did it.”
“I wasn’t playing well in the first set,” Seaman said. “When I was looking down at the other courts I could see that the match would be close and could possibly come down to me.
“I wanted to try to get her to a third set to see if I could outlast her physically. I was determined,” she said.
The win pushed the Lady Tigers’ (9-5, 1-4) streak to 11 consecutive home wins, dating back to March of 2003. They beat 16th-ranked Texas A&M at home in their last match.
“I’m really excited,” Minnis said. “We were not playing our best tennis, but it came down to determination and guts. These girls battled hard. They have done all this and we are playing without one of our best players.”
The Lady Tigers’ big wins have come after losing junior Amanda Mang in February. Mang, who played No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles, injured her wrist in LSU’s win over Florida State.
LSU won the doubles point to take the early lead, but this lead disappeared quickly as the Lady Wildcats bounced back with wins on singles courts No. 4 and No. 6.
Senior Rocio Fantilli evened the score again when she beat Kentucky’s Lara Maurer on court No. 2, 6-2, 7-6.
The lead shifted again when Jessica Ferguson’s rally against 27th-ranked Aibika Kalsarieva came up short at No. 1 singles. Ferguson, the current SEC Player of the week, lost, 6-3, 7-5.
LSU’s Marina Chiarelli closed out her match on court No. 3 over Joelle Schwenk, winning 7-6, 6-2 and giving LSU the momentum as Seaman headed into her third set.
The Lady Tigers will need the momentum when they welcome fourth-ranked Vanderbilt to the W.T. Robinson Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m.
#35 LSU 4, #15 Kentucky 3
Singles competition:
1. #27 Abika Kaserieva (KEN) def. Jessica Ferguson (LSU) 6-3, 7-5
2. Rocio Fantilli (LSU) def. Lara Maurer (KEN) 6-2, 7-6 (10-8)
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Joelle Schwenk (KEN) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4. Sarah Foster (KEN) def. Camila Caliari (LSU) 6-0, 6-15. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Liis Sober (KEN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
6. Christine Simpson (KEN) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Abika Kaserieva/Lara Maurer (KEN) def. Rocio Fantilli/Lauren Seaman (LSU) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Jessica Ferguson/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Sarah Foster/Joelle Schwenk (KEN) 8-2
3. Camila Caliari/Daysi Espinal (LSU) def. Christine Simpson/Kim Coventry (KEN) 8-5
Match Notes:
Kentucky 12-7; National ranking #15
LSU 9-5; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,5,1,6,2)
Clincher: (6)