BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team dropped a tight match to South Carolina, 4-3, on Friday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. The match lasted five hours as the Lady Tigers fought hard on all six courts.
“That was a tough one. We fought extremely hard. I was proud of the effort we gave. We had opportunities, we were up in matches and we are losing them,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “It is tough, but these kids are resilient. We have a lot of the season left and we just have to keep fighting.”
In doubles play, sophomores Mykala Hedberg and Megan Falcon upset 18th-ranked Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubova on court one, 8-4.
The Gamecocks were still able to grab the point winning matches on courts two and three. On court two, freshman Hannah Robinson and sophomore Staten Spencer fell to Christyn Lucas and Natasa Vuckovic, 8-4.
The point came down to court three as juniors Anastasiya Dubova and Tiffany Tucker battled Laura Ganzer and Megan McGavock. The match came down to a tiebreaker and the Gamecocks won it 9-8(7-5).
In singles play, Dubova grabbed the first match point for LSU defeating Ganzer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
The Gamecocks then went ahead 3-1 winning matches on courts two and three. Freshman Nicole Kantor fell first on court three to Vuckovic in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. Hedberg lost to Zubori on court two in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6.
Robinson gave the Lady Tigers their second match point as she defeated McGavock on court five in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0. She improved her winning streak to seven as she remained undefeated in the No. 5 slot at 8-0, owning an 18-7 overall record.
Lucas secured the win for South Carolina as she defeated Spencer on court four in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
LSU’s Falcon grabbed the final point of the match as she defeated Schofield on court one. The first two sets went into tiebreakers with Schofield winning the first and Falcon winning the second. Falcon came out strong in the third set to remain undefeated in dual play winning it 6-1.
Falcon improved her overall record to 24-2, 14-0 in dual play and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
The Lady Tigers will continue SEC play as they welcome No. 2 Florida on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT.
South Carolina vs LSU
#34 South Carolina 4, #32 LSU 3
Singles competition
1. #2 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #118 Gira Schofield (USC) 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
2. Ana Marija Zubori (USC) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. #125 Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Christyn Lucas (USC) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Megan McGavock (USC) 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
6. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Laura Ganzer (USC) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. #18 Gira Schofield/Ana Marija Zubori (USC) 8-4
2. Christyn Lucas/Natasa Vuckovic (USC) def. Hannah Robinson/Staten Spencer (LSU) 8-4
3. Laura Ganzer/Megan McGavock (USC) def. Anastasiya Dubova/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 9-8 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,3,2,5,4,1)