COLUMBIA, S.C. — The LSU women’s tennis team could not pull of an upset of South Carolina as it did a year ago, dropping its fifth Southeastern Conference contest to the 34th-ranked Gamecocks, 6-1, at the Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center on Friday.
“South Carolina played really today,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “They put together a complete match, and that’s what you have to do to win in the SEC.”
The Lady Tigers fall to 8-7 (0-5 SEC) with the loss, failing to record its first conference win. USC improves to 10-4 (3-2 SEC) with its win over LSU.
Despite the loss, two Lady Tigers fought tough three-set matches. After dropping her first set 6-0, Camila Caliari managed LSU’s lone win over Miranda Gutierrez with 7-5, 6-2 results in her following sets.
Freshman Mykala hedberg played her opponent, 68th-ranked Gira Schofield, close as well. She dropped her first set, 6-2, but won her second in tiebreaker, 7-6(9). Since the outcome of the match had already been decided, the competitors played a third-set super-tiebreaker, in which Schofield pulled out a 10-7 decision.
“There were positives from the match, especially the way Camila played today,” Minnis said. “Mykala almost won and so did Daysi. Our intensity level was better today, but we have to start winning. We have to keep our heads up and know we can turn things in the right direction.”
LSU could not avoid putting itself in an early hole, as the Gamecocks bested the Lady Tigers in the doubles point. They avoided the doubles sweep with a win on court one, but USC won the matches on courts two and three to take the early lead.
Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic defeated Marina Chiarelli and Anastasiya Dubova on court two, 8-2, first. Hedberg and Tiffany Tucker evened things up with an 8-3 victory on the No. 1 court over Megan McGavok and Schofield.
But the Gamecocks finished off the doubles competition by pulling out an 8-5 decision on the No. 3 court by Laura Ganzer and Miranda Gutierrez over Daysi Espinal and Lauren Seaman.
USC carried momentum into singles competition, winning the first three completed matches and earning the necessary four points to clinch the match before LSU could earn one. Those were all straight-sets losses by the Lady Tigers on courts two, three and four.
Caliari’s win on court five came next, followed by Espinal’s loss on court six. The senior dropped her first set, 6-3, tied it up at 6-all in the second trying to force a third-set super-tiebreaker. However, Grace Blakely bested Espinal in the tiebreaker, 8-6.
Hedberg’s third-set super-tiebreaker loss closed out competition for the day.
The Lady Tigers continue their SEC weekend Sunday, making a trip to Gainesville to battle the sixth-ranked Gators.
MATCH RESULTS
#34 South Carolina 6, #48 LSU 1
Singles
1. #68 Gira Schofield (USC) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-2, 6(9)-7, 10-7
2. #115 Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Christyn Lucas (USC) def. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Megan McGavok (USC) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Miranda Gutierrez (USC) 0-6, 7-5, 6-2
6. Grace Blakely (USC) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU) 6-3, 7-6(6)
Doubles
1. Mykala Hedberg/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Megan McGavok/Gira Schofield (USC) 8-3
2. Christyn Lucas/Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. Marina Chiarelli/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) 8-2
3. Laura Ganzer/Miranda Gutierrez (USC) def. Daysi Espinal/Lauren Seaman (LSU) 8-5
Match Notes
LSU #48 8-7 (0-5 SEC)
USC #34 10-4 (3-2 SEC)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (2,4,3,5,6,1)