NASHVILLE — The LSU women’s tennis team could not salvage a weekend split, as the Lady Tigers fell to 35th-ranked Vanderbilt, 5-2, at the Brownlee O. Curry Jr. Tennis Stadium on Sunday.
The Lady Tigers dropped to 6-5 with the loss, falling to 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Vanderbilt moved to 10-4 overall with the win, remaining a perfect 4-0 in SEC play. It was also the Commodores’ tenth straight win over the Lady Tigers.
The Commodores swept doubles play with scores of 8-4 on all three courts. No 43-ranked Megan Falcon and Hannah Robinson fell on court one No. 2-ranked Amanda Fish and Amanda Taylor.
On court two, sophomores Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer fell to Taka Bertrand and Catherine Newman. On court three, Courtney Ulery and Liberty Sveke rounded out the sweep for the Commodores as they defeated juniors Anastasiya Dubova and Tiffany Tucker.
“We need to get our doubles straight. We need to make some changes to get it right,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We have to find a way to improve our doubles play.”
In singles play, the Lady Tigers could only grab wins on courts one and five.
“We are playing hard in singles. Megan (Falcon) and Hannah (Robinson) are playing very solid,” Minnis said. “A couple of other girls have stepped up and are playing hard, but it all starts with the doubles point.”
Spencer fell first on court three to No. 49 Newman in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
No. 2 Falcon gave the Lady Tigers hope as she defeated No. 35 Fish on court one, 6-4, 7-5, but the Commodores still had the advantage 2-1.
Vanderbilt went ahead 3-1 as Dubova fell on court six to Sveke in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
No. 32 Taylor clinched the win for Commodores on court two as she defeated Hedberg in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Commodores grabbed their final point on court four as No. 103 Bertrand defeated Nicole Kantor in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Robinson rounded out singles play on a good note for the Lady Tigers as she defeated Ulery in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
The Lady Tigers will take a much needed break from conference play as they host Minnesota on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. Immediately following this match LSU will make-up their match with Southern that was postponed due to weather conditions early in the season.
Match Results
No. 35 Vanderbilt 5, No. 32 LSU 2
Singles
1. #2 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #35 Amanda Fish (VU), 6-4, 7-5
2. #32 Amanda Taylor (VU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU), 6-4, 6-4
3. #49 Catherine Newman (VU) def. Staten Spencer (LSU), 6-0, 6-2
4. #103 Taka Bertrand (VU) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Courtney Ulery (VU), 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
6. Liberty Sveke (VU) def. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: S3,S1, S6, S2*, S4, S5
Doubles
1. #t26 Amanda Taylor/Amanda Fish (VU) def. # 43 Falcon/Robinson (LSU), 8-4
2. Bertrand/Newman (VU) def. Hedberg/Spencer (LSU), 8-4
3. Ulery/Sveke (VU) def. Dubova/Tucker, 8-4