HOUSTON — The No. 23 LSU women’s tennis team (4-1) lost its first match of the season in a hard-fought battle at Rice (4-0), 4-3.
“We fought really hard today, but weren’t able to pull out the match,” coach Tony Minnis said.
The Lady Tigers picked up the doubles point to start the match. The duo of Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker remained undefeated on the season by beating Blair DiSesa and Kimberley Patenaude, 8-1.
While the pair of Amanda Mang and Staten Spencer lost their match in a 9-8 tiebreaker, Marina Chiarelli and Camila Caliari earned an 8-3 victory over their opponents to secure the doubles point for LSU.
The Lady Tigers then faced their toughest competition of the season in singles play against their first team ranked in the top 100. As a team Rice was ranked at No. 53 heading into the contest and their No. 1 singles player Blair DiSesa at No. 89 in individual rankings.
The Lady Tigers went ahead 3-2 with wins by Spencer and Chiarelli. The winners of the Nos. 1 and 6 courts would determine the outcome.
On court six, Caliari had lost the first set and come back to win the second. However, she could not overcome Medeja Egic and fell in the third set, 6-4.
Likewise, Mang could not pull the upset over DiSesa. She fell as well in her first set, but then took control in the second, winning 6-1. But DiSesa was too much and defeated Mang, 6-4, for the victory.
LSU dropped to 4-1 on the season, while Rice remained a perfect 4-0 with the win.
The Lady Tigers will stay in Houston for a meeting with Houston on Tuesday and hope to pick up a win on the road.
“It was a tough game, but now we just have to regroup and get ready for our match with Houston on Tuesday.”
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Seaman/Tucker (LSU) def. DiSesa/Patenaude (Rice) 8-1
2. Chong/Karas (Rice) def. Mang/Spencer (LSU) 9-8(7-4)
3. Chiarelli/Caliari (LSU) def. Egic/Cao (Rice) 8-3
Singles
1. Blair DiSesa (Rice) def. Amanda Mang (LSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
2. Kimberley Patenaude (Rice) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
3. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Tracie Chong (Rice) 6-2, 6-2
4. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Christine Dao (Rice) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Dominique Karas (Rice) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Medeja Egic (Rice) def. Camila Caliari (LSU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4