BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team swept its third match of the weekend defeating conference rival Mississippi State, 7-0, on Sunday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
LSU improved its overall record to 11-7 and now own a 3-5 Southeastern Conference record.
“We played a really solid match. Everybody came out and took care of business. I was really impressed with the amount of intensity and focus we played with,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “If we can continue growing up, staying mature and keep working hard, I think we have some good opportunities in front of us.”
The Lady Tigers swept doubles play for the eighth time this season. Freshman Nicole Kantor and sophomore Staten Spencer have won their third straight match on court three. They defeated MSU’s 55th ranked duo of France Renee Joseph and Daniela Juskova, 8-3.
Sophomores Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg remain undefeated in the No. 1 slot as a duo improving their record to 6-0 by defeating the Lady Bulldog’s Martina Banikova and Valeriya Makarycheva, 8-5.
Freshman Hannah Robinson and junior Anastasiya Dubova battled for the sweep on court two against MSU’s Elna de Villiers and DeAndra Saddler. The Lady Tigers won it by a score of 8-6.
In singles play, Falcon finished first on court one as she defeated MSU’s Banikova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The Alameda, Calif. native, ranked No. 2 in the country, improved her overall record to 27-2 with the win. She is 16-0 in dual play, 8-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
Kantor put the Lady Tigers up 3-1 defeating Juskova on court three in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Spencer battled back from behind in the second set to clinch the win for LSU defeating Saddler on court five in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Hedberg and Dubova put LSU up 6-0 winning their matches on courts two and six, respectively. Hedberg defeated Villiers, 6-1, 6-2. Dubova downed Makarycheva, 6-2, 6-3.
On court four, Robinson won a hard fought first set tiebreaker against the Lady Bulldog’s Joseph. She then dominated the second set to complete the sweep for the Lady Tigers.
Up next, the Lady Tigers will look to improve their conference record as they travel to face Alabama on Friday at 4 p.m. CT and Auburn on Sunday at 11 a.m.
MSU vs LSU
Apr 01, 2007 at Baton Rouge
#40 LSU 7, #71 MSU 0
Singles competition
1. #2 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Martina Banikova (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Daniela Juskova (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. France Renee Joseph (MSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-1
5. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. DeAndra Saddler (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Martina Banikova/Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) 8-5
2. Hannah Robinson/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Elna de Villiers/DeAndra Saddler (MSU) 8-6
3. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. #55 France Renee Joseph/Daniela Juskova (MSU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,3,5,2,6,4)