BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team won its fourth straight match Tuesday by defeating Louisiana-Lafayette and will look to carry over that momentum to Wednesday’s match at No. 15 Tulane at 5 p.m.
“It’s going to be a tough match, but if we fight hard like we are capable of doing, we can come out ahead,” head coach Tony Minnis said.
Just like it had once earlier this season, LSU swept the Ragin Cajuns in a solid performance. The Lady Tigers improved to 11-9 overall, while ULL dropped to 7-8.
“We did a really good job today,” Minnis said. “Everybody came out and took care of their business and played the way they needed for the win.”
The Lady Tigers opened with dominance in doubles, sweeping the point for the fourth consecutive match. On court two, Amanda Mang and Staten Spencer did not even allow their opponents a single point, winning 8-0.
Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker clinched the point with their win on court one, and Camila Caliari and Marina Chiarelli followed shortly after with a victory of their own on court three.
In singles, Mang eased to a two-set victory, 6-1, 6-0, over Tammy Day for LSU’s second point.
Tucker and Caliari also worked their way to quick two-set wins. Tucker won over Kimmie Lyles, 6-3, 6-4, for her sixth straight victory in the No. 5 slot. Caliari then clinched the match for the Lady Tigers with a 6-1, 6-3 score over Thais Bortoletto at No. 6 singles. It was Caliari’s seventh win in a row.
Chiarelli extended her winning streak as well to five matches with her performance on court four over Susan Linden, winning 6-0, 6-4.
Seaman struggled in her first set, just pulling out the 7-5 win. But she gained control in the second, rolling over Celine WanWeydeveld, 6-0.
Spencer could not keep a first-set lead on court three and fell 7-5 to Chanelle Meijer. But she also controlled the second set, 6-3. In a tiebreaker, she then finished off her opponent (10-8) to complete the sweep for LSU.
The Lady Tigers hope to bring the level of play they have shown the past four matches with them to New Orleans on Wednesday when they battle Tulane.
A victory will not come easily, however. Tulane listed at No. 15 in the latest ITA rankings released Tuesday and is 17-5 overall. The Wave have won nine straight, including two upset wins in the past two matches over Baylor (15th) and TCU (17th).
#42 LSU 7, UL-Lafayette 0
Singles competition:
1. Amanda Mang (LSU) def. Tammy Day (ULL) 6-1, 6-0
2. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Celine VanWeydeveld (ULL) 7-5, 6-0
3. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Chanelle Meijer (ULL) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
4. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Susan Linden (ULL) 6-0, 6-4
5. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Kimmie Lyles (ULL) 6-3, 6-4
6. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Thais Bortoletto (ULL) 6-1, 6-3*
Doubles competition:
1. Lauren Seaman/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Tammy Day/Chanelle Meijer (ULL) 8-3
2. Amanda Mang/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Susan Linden/Kimmie Lyles (ULL) 8-0
3. Camila Caliari/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Thais Bortoletto/Celine VanWeydeveld (ULL) 8-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,6,2,4,3)