BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team was unable to get ahead as they fell to Florida State, 5-2, at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium on Friday.
“Florida State played a very good match. I felt like we just played very tight today, especially in the doubles. I think they came out and really came after us and we got a little nervous,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “I feel confident that we will bounce back and play better, but it was a tough loss for these girls right off the bat.”
In doubles play the Lady Tigers fell on courts one and three giving Florida St. the point. On court two, sophomores Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer defeated the Seminole’s Lauren Macfarlane and Ania Rynarzewska, 8-2.
In singles play, on court one sophomore Megan Falcon, ranked No. 7 in the nation, dominated the match against FSU’s No. 63 Nicola Slater winning in straights sets, 6-4, 6-2, and giving LSU its first point of the match.
On court four Robinson struggled against the Seminole’s Carolin Walter as she fell in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Freshman Nicole Kantor battled on court three against FSU’s Macfarlane, but could not grab the win as she fell, 6-4, 6-4. This gave the Seminoles a 3-1 advantage.
On court six the Seminoles secured the win as junior Anastasiya Dubova fell to Jessica Wente. Wente won the first set 6-4. Dubova battled back from a 5-3 deficit to tie the score at 5-5 in the second set but could not maintain momentum as she lost the next two points.
On court five Spencer grinded out the victory in three sets as she defeated Tapiwa Marobela, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. On court two Hedberg battled No. 52 Rynarzewska into a third set super tiebreaker but fell short ending the match with a score of 3-6, 6-2, 10-5.
Up next, the Lady Tigers will open SEC play at home as they take on No. 23 Tennessee on Friday, March 2, at 3 p.m. CST followed by No. 16 Georgia on Sunday, March 4, at Noon.
Match Results
#58 Florida State 5, # 44 LSU 2
Singles Competition
1. # 7 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. # 63 Nicola Slater (FSU), 6-4, 6-2
2. #52 Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU), 3-6, 6-3, 10-5
3. Lauren Macfarlane (FSU) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU), 6-4, 6-4
4. Carolin Walter (FSU) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU), 6-3, 6-4
5. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Tapiwa Marobela (FSU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
6. Jessica Wente (FSU) def. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU), 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Nicola Slater/Carolin Walter (FSU) def. # 11 Megan Falcon/Hannah Robinson (LSU), 8-4
2. Mykala Hedberg/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Lauren Macfarlane/Ania Rynarzewska (FSU), 8-2
3. Miranda Foley/Jessica Wente (FSU) def. Ashley Murdock/Tiffany Tucker (LSU), 8-1
Order of finish: D1,D3,D2,S1,S4,S3,S6*,
*clinched match