FAYETVILLE, Ark. — The LSU women’s tennis lost its last road match in heartbreaking fashion as it fell to No. 59 Arkansas, 4-3, on Saturday at the Arkansas Varsity Courts.
With the loss the Lady Tigers fell to 15-8, 5-6 in the Southeastern Conference. LSU will have to wait to find out where they will be seeded in next week’s Southeastern Conference Championships, which will be held in Lexington, Ky.
“It was a tough loss. I have to give Arkansas credit, they played well,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We fought hard, but they played with a good hunger and deserved to win.”
In doubles play, the Lady Razorbacks took the early lead as they swept all three courts. Rachel Wilhelm and Audrey Bordeleau of Arkansas started the sweep as they defeated LSU’s Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer on court three, 8-5.
Anastasiya Dubova and Hannah Robinson lost on court two to Ela Kaluder and Aurelija Miseviciute, 8-6, giving the Lady Razorbacks the doubles point.
No. 42 Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg battled on court one, but fell in a tiebreaker, 7-5, to Maryori Franco and Nanar Airapetian.
In singles play, Hedberg was downed first on court two by Miseviciute in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
No. 3 Falcon gave LSU its first match point defeating No. 25 Kaluder on court one in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2. With the win, Falcon improves to 31-2 overall, 21-0 in the No. 1 slot in dual play and a perfect 11-0 in the SEC.
Spencer tied the score at 2-2 winning her match on court five against Bordeleau, 6-4, 6-4. The Lady Razorbacks went back up as Kantor fell on court three in straight sets to Franco, 7-6, 6-2.
Dubova pulled through to tie the score again at 3-3 as she downed Wilhelm on court six in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
The match came down to court four as LSU’s Robinson and Arkansas’ Airapetian battled into three sets. Arkansas took the first set 6-3. LSU came back to dominate and win the second set 6-1, but could not keep momentum as Arkansas came back to win the set 6-3 claiming the match for the Lady Razorbacks.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Lexington, Ky. this week to play in the SEC Championship Tournament. Play begins Thursday at 8 a.m.
Match Results
No. 59 Arkansas 4, No. 29 LSU 3
Singles Competition
1. Megan Falcon (LSU) def. No. 25 Ela Kaluder (ARK) 7-5, 6-2
2. Aurelija Miseviciute (ARK) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Maryori Franco (ARK) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 7-6, 6-2
4. Nanar Airapetian (ARK) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
5. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Audrey Bordeleau (ARK) 6-4, 6-4
6. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Rachel Wilhelm (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. Maryori Franco/Nanar Airapetian (ARK) def. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 9-8 (5)
2. Ela Kaluder/Aurelija Miseviciute (ARK) def. Anastasiya Dubova/Hannah Robinson (LSU) 8-6
3. Rachel Wilhelm/Audrey Bordeleau (ARK) def. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1*) ; Singles (2, 1*, 5, 3, 6, 4)