GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt proved to be too much for the Lady Tigers, as the 10th-seeded LSU women’s tennis team dropped its Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal match with the eighth-ranked Commodores, 4-0, Friday at Florida’s Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The Lady Tigers (12-12) didn’t have another upset in them after pulling off two straight upsets over Arkansas on Saturday and Thursday.
“This was a tough match for us,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “Vanderbilt is a top-10 team and they definitely played like it today.”
The Commodores, which went 10-1 in the SEC in the regular season, improved to 21-3 overall with the win and will face off against the winner of Kentucky and Alabama on Saturday in the semifinals.
LSU stands at 12-12 overall and must wait to see if it will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament for a 12th consecutive year.
The Lady Tigers couldn’t grab the early lead, dropping matches on courts one and two in doubles to give the Commodores the edge. Taka Bertrand and Amanda Fish started with an 8-2 victory over Mykala Hedberg and Tiffany Tucker on court one followed by Amanda Taylor and Caroline Ferrell with an 8-5 win over Marina Chiarelli and Anastasiya Dubova on court two.
Lauren Seaman and Daysi Espinal had just fallen behind, 6-5, when doubles play was called.
Singles competition didn’t go much better for LSU. Daysi Espinal was forced to retire on court six to Maggie Yahner, giving Vanderbilt its second point of the match.
Despite the other two seniors experiencing some closer competition, the underclassmen all struggled mightily to give the Commodores the advantage.
Dubova fell to Taylor on the three court, 6-0, 6-0, for VU’s third point
Rain and lightning forced the remainder of the matches to Florida’s indoor pavilion, where Hedberg eventually succumbed to 14th-ranked Fish on court one, 6-2, 6-1, to allow the Commodores to clinch the match.
Seaman led Ulery on court four, 6-3, 2-1, when play was called, and Chiarelli was in a battle with No. 35-ranked Bertrand on court two. She had dropped a very close first set to Bertrand, the 2006 SEC Player of the Year, 7-5.
It was not enough, however, as the Lady Tigers’ tournament run ended with Vanderbilt on Friday.
MATCH RESULTS
SEC Tournament – Quarterfinals
Gainesville, Fla.
#8 Vanderbilt 4, #60 LSU 0
Singles
1. #16 Amanda Fish (VU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #35 Taka Bertrand (VU) vs. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) 7-5, DNF
3. #121 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Lauren Seaman (LSU) vs. Courtney Ulery (VU) 6-3, 2-1, DNF
5. Caroline Ferrell (VU) vs. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-0, 4-3, DNF
6. Maggie Yahner (VU) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU) 5-2, ret.
Doubles
1. Amanda Fish/Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Mykala Hedberg/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 8-2
2. Caroline Ferrell/Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Marina Chiarelli/Anastasia Dubova (LSU) 8-5
3. Courtney Ulery/Liberty Sveke (VU) vs. Daysi Espinal/Lauren Seaman (LSU) 6-5, DNF
Match Notes
Vanderbilt #8 21-3
LSU #60 12-12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2) Singles (6,3,1)