MIDLAND, TEXAS — Staten Spencer and Hannah Robinson of the LSU women’s tennis team came out strong at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational as they both grabbed a win in their first match of the day, and Spencer advanced to the consolation finals.
“Overall, it was a really positive day,” LSU assistant coach Lisa Jackson said. “The girls were fighting really hard and playing well.”
Robinson defeated UCLA’s Stephanie Wetmore in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Her next match did not go as well as she fell to Pepperdine’s Anete Bandera, 6-2, 6-1.
Spencer won both of her singles matches on the day as she defeated her opponents in straight sets. In her first match she knocked off Rice’s Emily Braid, 6-2, 6-2. She then defeated Boise State’s Tatiana Ganzha, 6-2, 6-3.
In doubles play, Spencer and Robinson fell to the No. 2 seed from Pepperdine, Bandera and Sylvia Kosakowski, 8-4.
“Staten and Hannah played really well in their first doubles tournament,” Jackson said. “They lost to a seeded team, but they were playing really solid.”
Spencer will continue play Sunday at 11 a.m. as she will face Bandera from Pepperdine in the consolation finals.
Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational
Singles
Round of 32
No. 112 Anna Blagodarova (Texas A&M) def. Staten Spencer (LSU), 7-5, 6-2
Tiffany Lee (Rice) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU), 6-1, 6-3
1st round Consolation
Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Alanna Rodgers (Rice), 6-2, 6-2
Hannah Robinson (LSU), bye
2nd round Consolation
Staten Spencer (LSU) def Emily Braid (Rice), 6-2, 6-2
Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Stephanie Wetmore (UCLA), 6-3, 6-2
Consolation semi-finals
Anete Bandera (Pepperdine) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU), 6-2, 6-1
Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Tatiana Ganzha (Boise St.), 6-2, 6-3
Consolation finals
Staten Spencer (LSU) vs. Anete Bandera (Pepperdine), 11 a.m.
Doubles
First Round Doubles
Robinson/Spencer (LSU) def. Lin/Rodgers (Rice), 8-4
Second Round Doubles
Kosakowski/Bandere (Pepperdine) def. Robinson/Spencer (LSU), 8-4