LEXINGTON, KY. — The LSU women’s tennis team lost their second Southeastern Conference match as they fell in a close match to No. 23 Kentucky on Friday, 4-3.
“That was a really hard loss. It was a nail-biter and we came up short. We just have to bounce back and get ready for Vanderbilt,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “That was a very good team we just played and they played a solid match. We just have to improve and keep working to get better.”
The Lady Tigers (6-4, 1-2 SEC) fell behind early when they failed to secure the doubles point. Sophomores Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer fell first on court two to UK’s Carolina Escamilla and Sarah Woestmann, 8-4.
No. 43-ranked Megan Falcon and Hannah Robinson lost to No. 2-ranked Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk on court one, 8-6.
Juniors Anastasiya Dubova and Tiffany Tucker fought hard on court three, but could not come out on top losing in a tiebreaker to the Wildcat’s Whitney Spencer and Christine Johnston, 8-7 (5).
In singles play, Spencer fell first on court three to Woestmann, 6-1, 6-0.
No. 2-ranked Falcon remained perfect on the season in the No. 1 slot as she defeated UK’s Coventry in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
On court two, No. 87-ranked Schwenk defeated Hedberg in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, giving the Wildcats a 3-1 advantage.
The Lady Tigers grabbed their second point on court four as freshman Nicole Kantor defeated Escamilla in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-3.
On court five, Robinson tied the score at 3-3 as she defeated UK’s Spencer in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. Dubova battled on court six, but was unable to clinch the win for the Lady Tigers as she fell to the Wildcat’s Jessica Giuggioli in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Up next, the Lady Tigers will travel to Nashville, Tenn., as they continue SEC play against No. 35 Vanderbilt.
Match Results
No. 23 Kentucky 4, No. 32 LSU 3
Singles Competition
1. # 2 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Kim Coventry (UK), 6-2, 6-1
2. # 87 Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU),6-4, 6-0
3. Sarah Woestmann (UK) def. Staten Spencer (LSU), 6-1, 6-0
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Carolina Escamilla (UK), 7-6 (5), 6-3
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Whitney Spencer (UK), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 5
6. Jessica Giuggioli (UK) def. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. No. 2 Coventry/Schwenk (UK) def. No. 43 Falcon/Robinson (LSU), 8-6
2. Escamilla/Woestmann (UK) def. Hedberg/Spencer (LSU), 8-4
3. Johnston/Spencer (UK) def. Dubova/Tucker (LSU), 8-7 (5)