BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team was unable to grab a second SEC win as they fell to the 12th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 5-2, on Sunday at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
After upsetting No. 24 Tennessee in its season opener at home on Friday, the Lady Tigers (5-2, 1-1 SEC) were unable to keep momentum losing the doubles point and four of the six singles matches.
“I give all respect to Georgia. They have shown why they are undefeated and a top team in the county right now. They played really hard and really well. I was impressed with how mentally solid they were,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “Our kids competed really hard. The doubles point was a little bit of a momentum swing. We just have to keep improving.”
Sophomore Megan Falcon, ranked No. 7 by ITA, remained perfect on the season in the No. 1 slot as she defeated No. 11 Natalie Frazier, 0-6, 7-6, 10-7.
Freshman Hannah Robinson also grabbed a singles win as she bested the Bulldogs Lara Fakhoury, 6-7, 7-5, 10-2.
The Bulldogs improved their record to 8-0 (2-0 SEC) with the win, sweeping their conference opening weekend by defeating both Arkansas and LSU.
Georgia grabbed the doubles point with an 8-5 win on court one and a 9-8(4) win on court three. The 23rd-ranked duo of Darya Ivanov and Yvette Hyndman defeated No. 11 Megan Falcon and Hannah Robinson on court one.
On court three, juniors Tiffany Tucker and Anastasiya Dubova battled a hard fought match against the Bulldogs Kelly Hyndman and Lara Fakhoury, but were unable to grab the match as they fell 7-4 in a tiebreaker.
On court two, sophomores Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer defeated Natalie Frazier and Naoko Ueshima, 8-5.
The Bulldogs also began singles with two quick straight-sets victory. Hedberg bowed out first to Yvette Hyndman on court two, 6-3, 6-3. Kantor suffered the next loss at the No. 3 slot to No. 93 Darya Ivanov, 6-2, 6-3, to put Georgia ahead, 3-0.
On court six, Ueshima was able to clinch the match for the Bulldogs as she defeated Tucker in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. The Bulldogs fifth point came as Spencer fell to Kelley Hyndman, 7-6, 6-0.
“I think this team is getting better and better, and going through matches like this is pretty tough,” Minnis said. “I am really excited about going after Kentucky on Friday. I am disappointed with the loss, but proud of the effort.”
LSU continues its SEC slate next weekend, traveling to Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Match Results
Georgia vs LSU
Mar 04, 2007
#12 Georgia 5, #51 LSU 2
Singles competition
1. #7 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #11 Natalie Frazier (UGA) 0-6, 7-6, 10-7
2. Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
3. #93 Darya Ivanov (UGA) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Kelley Hyndman (UGA) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 7-6, 6-0
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Lara Fakhoury (UGA) 6-7, 7-5, 10-2
6. Naoka Ueshima (UGA) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #23 Yvette Hyndman/Darya Ivanov (UGA) def. #11 Megan Falcon/Hannah Robinson (LSU) 8-5
2. Mykala Hedberg/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Natalie Frazier/Naoka Ueshima (UGA) 8-5
3. Kelley Hyndman/Lara Fakhoury (UGA) def. Anastasiya Dubova/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 9-8
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,3,6,1,5,4)