BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team celebrated Easter in grand fashion defeating Auburn by a tight 4-3 decision to take the lead in the Southeastern Conference Western Division on Sunday.
Sophomore Staten Spencer clinched the match for LSU on court five improving her overall record to 15-14 and 5-5 in the SEC
“We played hard. I respect Auburn for the effort and mental toughness that they played with,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “It was a team effort and I am really proud. We got great momentum from winning the doubles point.”
The Lady Tigers swept doubles play for the ninth time this season. Freshman Hannah Robinson and junior Anastasiya Dubova finished first on court two defeating Kelly Adams and Fani Chifchieva, 8-3.
LSU’s No. 42-ranked duo of Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg upset Auburn’s 14th-ranked Alex Haney and Melissa Koning on court one, 8-6.
Freshman Nicole Kantor and Spencer finished the sweep for the Lady Tigers winning their fifth-straight match on court three against Whitney Chappell and Jil Hastenrath, 8-3.
The match was a tough battle in singles play. The Lady Tigers were able to grab three of the six matches to improve their record to 13-7, 5-5 in the SEC. Auburn falls to 10-8, 4-6 in the SEC.
Hedberg fell on court two against Haney in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, giving Auburn their first match point.
No. 3-ranked Falcon finished not far behind improving her overall record to 29-2, 19-0 in dual play and a perfect 10-0 in the SEC. She defeated Auburn’s No. 27 Chifchieva on court one in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Dubova put the Lady Tigers up 3-1 winning her match on court six against the Tiger’s Heather Bybee in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Robinson fell on court four against Chappell, 6-2, 6-3, keeping Auburn in the match, but LSU was still ahead 3-2.
Spencer clinched the win for LSU on court five as she battled Hastenrath winning the match in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“This was a very good match for Staten (Spencer). With all the adversity she has been through with having back surgery, it was great for her to pull through and I am really proud of her,” Minnis said. “She has been through a lot of ups and downs with her confidence and for her to come through in the end was big.”
Up next, LSU will take a short break from SEC play to welcome Marshall to the “Dub” on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT. They will finish regular season play at Arkansas on Saturday, April 14, at Noon.
Match Results
#39 LSU 4, #36 Auburn 3
Singles competition
1. #3 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #27 Fani Chifchieva (AU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Alex Haney (AU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Melissa Koning (AU) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
4. Whitney Chappell (AU) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Jil Hastenrath (AU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Heather Bybee (AU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #42 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. #14 Alex Haney/Melissa Koning (AU) 8-6
2. Hannah Robinson/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Kelly Adams/Fani Chifchieva (AU) 8-3
3. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Whitney Chappell/Jil Hastenrath (AU) 8-3