BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team sent off its seniors in big fashion Saturday, upsetting the Southeastern Conference Western Division leading No. 43 Lady ?Backs, 5-2, at W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium on Senior Day.
The Lady Tigers (11-11, 3-8 SEC) seized control early by sweeping doubles and then entered into a grueling singles competition.
Wins by Anastasiya Dubova and Camila Caliari gave the Lady Tigers a 3-0 advantage, but the remaining four singles matches went to third sets.
Daysi Espinal and Mykala Hedberg dropped theirs to give the Lady ?Backs two points, but a dramatic third-set comeback by Marina Chiarelli over No. 55-ranked Ela Kaluder on court two clinched the win for LSU.
The senior dropped her first set, 6-4, and then fought for the 6-2 win in the second. Behind 5-3 in the decisive set, Chiarelli staged an impressive comeback to tie the match at 5-all. She fell behind again, 6-5, but managed to return the score to 6-all. In her tiebreaker and down 5-3, she grabbed control and notched the final four points to clinch the win for her team in her Senior Day appearance.
“Marina fought really hard today just like she’s done her entire career,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “I was really proud of her today because she was able to beat a really good player by using the heart she always plays with.”
The loss snapped a six-match winning streak for Arkansas (10-9, 5-6 SEC), who dropped back below .500 in conference action. It also marked the Lady ?Backs’ first loss to an SEC Western Division opponent this season. The Lady Tigers have now won eight straight over Arkansas.
LSU’s four seniors — Caliari, Chiarelli, Espinal and Lauren Seaman — were honored prior to the match for their contributions to the program for their four years.
“I was so glad to see the seniors play their hearts out today,” Minnis said. “It’s a shame with some of the circumstances we’ve had to deal with this year, but these kids have been an important part of our program and I’m glad their last match here turned out like it did.”
The Lady Tigers began the day by sweeping the doubles point in impressive fashion. Hedberg and Tiffany Tucker led the way with their 8-4 defeat of Maryori Franco and Karina Ledaja on court one.
The senior pair of Seaman and Espinal fittingly clinched the early point for LSU with their court three victory over Melissa Cornett and Rachel Wilhelm, 8-2. Chiarelli and Dubova completed the sweep, 8-4, over Audrey Bordeleau and Kaluder on the two court.
This match concludes the regular season for LSU, which begins play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
Match Results
#66 LSU 5, #43 Arkansas 2
Singles competition
1. Vlatka Jovanovic (ARK) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. #55 Ela Kaluder (ARK) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Maryori Franco (ARK) 6-3, 6-2
4. Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Melissa Cornett (ARK) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Karina Ledaja (ARK) 7-5, 6-4
6. Audrey Bordeleau (ARK) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Tiffany Tucker/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Maryori Franco/Karina Ledaja (ARK) 8-4
2. Anastasiya Dubova/Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Ela Kaluder/Audrey Bordeleau (ARK) 8-4
3. Daysi Espinal/Lauren Seaman (LSU) def. Melissa Cornett/Rachel Wilhelm (ARK) 8-2
Match Notes:
Arkansas 10-9 (5-6 SEC); National ranking #43
LSU 11-11 (3-8 SEC); National ranking #66
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,5,6,1,2,4)