BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team came up just short again Friday, losing its first Southeastern Conference Western Division match to Ole Miss, 5-2.
The Lady Tigers never quite found a rhythm, losing all three doubles and four-of-six singles.
“I’m really disappointed with our effort today,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “The one constant we’ve had this entire year has been that we played with tremendous effort and intensity no matter who we played. And today we didn’t have that, and I was really disappointed with our lack of effort.”
Their overall record dropped to 7-8 and the conference record to 1-6, while Ole Miss improved to 10-6 and 3-4 in conference.
The Lady Tigers could not take control early in the match, falling in doubles on all three courts. Staten Spencer and Marina Chiarelli were defeated first, then a loss by Camila Caliari and Daysi Espinal on court three gave Ole Miss the doubles point to begin with.
After being down 5-0 on court one, Amanda Mang and Tiffany Tucker climbed back to tie 24th-ranked Chloe Carlotti and Virginia Tomatis, but the Lady Rebels duo regained control and won 8-5 to complete the sweep.
Things appeared more promising for the Lady Tigers in singles, as they won the first set on three courts. But before either of those three could finish matches, the Rebels earned enough points for the victory.
The first match to end was Spencer’s on court three. After a tough battle, she lost to Ilona Somers in two sets. Chiarelli also fell in two sets, unable to win her second straight after beating a ranked opponent last weekend.
Lauren Seaman, back in the singles lineup after a four-match hiatus because of injury, could not overcome 82nd-ranked Nika Koukhartchouk. She lost in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, giving Ole Miss its fourth point to clinch the match.
Mang won the first set over No. 57-ranked Chloe Carlotti, 6-3. But Carlotti would not go away quietly and took the second set by the same score. She then finished it off with a 6-2 win in the final set.
Two Lady Tigers put up points on the board in their team’s loss. Tucker grinded out a 7-6(9-7), 6-3 win on court five.
Caliari defeated her opponent as well, dropping Preethi Subramanian in two sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Sunday features another tough competitor for LSU, as the team closes its home season against the 23rd-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs at 1 p.m.
#45 Ole Miss 5, #47 LSU 2
Singles competition:
1. #57 Chloe Carlotti (UM) def. #99 Amanda Mang (LSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. #82 Nika Koukhartchouk (UM) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Ilona Somers (UM) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Virginia Tomatis (UM) def. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Mimi Renaudin (UM) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
6. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Preethi Subramanian (UM) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. #24 Chloe Carlotti/Virginia Tomatis (UM) def. Amanda Mang/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 8-5
2. Ilona Somers/Mimi Renaudin (UM) def. Staten Spencer/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) 8-2
3. Nika Koukhartchouk/Preethi Subramanian (UM) def. Camila Caliari/Daysi Espinal (LSU) 8-2
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 10-6 (3-4 SEC); National ranking #45
LSU 7-8 (1-6 SEC); National ranking #47
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,2,5,6,1)