BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team added two more victories to its total with a 6-1 win over UL-Lafayette and a 7-0 sweep over Southern on Sunday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
With the defeats over the Ragin’ Cajuns (0-1) and the Jaguars (0-1), the Lady Tigers (3-0) have now begun their season with three wins for the 11th straight year.
“It was a productive weekend, and I’m glad we got through it,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “It’s been tough having to deal with the effects of the weather on our matches, and it’s made the days really long.”
In the match versus ULL, already rescheduled from last weekend after a rainout, competition was delayed for more than hour to allow the courts to dry from Saturday night’s weather. Once it began, however, The Lady Tigers quickly captured the two needed doubles wins. Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker downed Tammy Day and Chanelle Meijer on court one first, 8-3, followed by the doubles clincher by Camila Caliari and Anastasiya Dubova over Thais Bortloletto and Celine VanWeydeveld on court three, 8-2.
The match on court two took a little longer, but Marina Chiarelli and Mykala Hedberg eventually finished the sweep with a win over Kimmie Lyles and Clemence Remy, 8-6.
In singles, Dubova added the second point for LSU with her court five win over Bortoletto, 6-2, 6-0. The Lady Tigers lead increased to 3-0 with Chiarelli’s 6-1, 6-2 victory over Meijer on court three.
Seaman then clinched the match in two sets over Remy on court two. After falling behind 3-0 in the first set, Seaman stormed back to take the set, 6-3. She won the second, 6-4, to give LSU the win.
Caliari defeated her counterpart on court six just before ULL captured its only victory of the day, a three-set win by VanWeydeveld on court four over Tucker.
Hedberg played a tight match on court one as well, being forced to a third-set super tiebreaker by ULL’s Day. Hedberg outlasted her in the end, the final score reading 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(5).
“I was really impressed with ULL’s effort and intensity they came out with,” Minnis commented.
The Lady Tigers’ day was far from over, however, as they moved to the side courts after a short break for their meeting with cross-town rival Southern.
This time around, all three doubles tandems grabbed victories rather easily, led by Hedberg and Chiarelli on court two who edged out Bethlehem Workeneh and Gabrielle Marshall, 8-1. Caliari and partner Daysi Espinal also picked up an 8-1 advantage over Sidney Lartigue and Jennifer Floyd to clinch the doubles win.
All six singles matches went LSU’s way as well. Chiarelli finished off Tania Hicks on court three first, 6-1, 6-1, followed by Caliari who took down Sarah Johnson by the same margin.
This time, Tucker, who lost her match earlier in the day, pulled through to clinch the match for Lady Tigers, 6-3, 6-1 over Workeneh.
Sunday’s matches, the first of a seven-match homestand, also completed the in-state competition for the Lady Tigers. They now ready to face four straight Texas opponents beginning with Rice on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m.
MATCH RESULTS
#43 LSU 6, UL-Lafayette 1
Singles competition
1. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Tammy Day (ULL) 6-3, 5-7, 10-5
2. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Clemence Remy (ULL) 6-3, 6-4
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Chanelle Meijer (ULL) 6-1, 6-2
4. Celine VanWeydeveld (ULL) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
5. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Thais Bortoletto (ULL) 6-2, 6-0
6. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Kimmie Lyles (ULL) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Lauren Seaman/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Tammy Day/Chanelle Meijer (ULL) 8-3
2. Mykala Hedberg/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Kimmie Lyles/Clemence Remy (ULL) 8-6
3. Anastasiya Dubova/Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Thais Bortoletto/Celine VanWeydeveld (ULL) 8-2
Match Notes:
UL-Lafayette 0-1
LSU 2-0; National ranking #43
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,3,2,6,4,1)
Match delayed to dry courts; Court 1 played third-set super tiebreaker
#43 LSU 7, Southern 0
Singles competition
1. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Francisa Osedumme (SU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Me’Shala Johnson (SU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Tania Hicks (SU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def Bethlehem Workeneh (SU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Sarah Johnson (SU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Daysi Espinal (LSU) def. Sidney Lartigue (SU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Lauren Seaman/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Tania Hicks/Francisca Osedumme (SU) 8-3
2. Mykala Hedberg/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Gabrielle Marshall/Bethlehem Workeneh (SU) 8-1
3. Camila Caliari/Daysi Espinal (LSU) def. Jennifer Floyd/Sidney Lartigue (SU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Southern 0-1
LSU 3-0; National ranking #43
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,4,2,1,6)
Match played on side courts