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Falcon Earns Spot in NCAA Tennis Round of 16

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
Live Results and Live Video NCAA Women's Singles Bracket (.pdf) +0
Falcon Earns Spot in NCAA Tennis Round of 16

ATHENS, Ga. — Sophomore Megan Falcon of the LSU women’s tennis team advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship Thursday afternoon by defeating No. 30-ranked Catrina Thompson of Notre Dame, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Falcon and doubles partner Hannah Robinson did not have the same luck in their match as they fell, 6-4, 6-4, to the No. 59-ranked team of Maria Anisimova and Kate Kosminskaya of Penn in the opening round of doubles. The LSU pair finishes the season with a 14-6 record. 

Falcon will now face No. 12-ranked Zsuzanna Fodor of California on Friday at 9 a.m. CDT in the round of 16. Fodor defeated No.46-ranked Martina Banikova of Mississippi State, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the sweet 16. Falcon and Fodor met in the consolation quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Tournament in September, where Falcon came out on top, 6-3, 6-1.

Falcon is the first Lady Tiger to advance to the round of 16 since Bruna Colosio did it in 2001.

“I tried to serve as hard as I could in the third set because I knew she (Thompson) was going to come out strong,” Falcon said. “I got a little lucky today and was able to hit more shots than she did.”

The victory pushes Falcon’s win streak to 26 and improves her overall record to an outstanding 36-2.

Falcon held a 3-0 advantage in the first set before Thompson began to fight back. However, Falcon’s lead was too much for Thompson to overcome as the two spilt the next six games to give Falcon a 6-3 set victory.

The momentum quickly shifted in the second set as Thompson came out firing to take the set by a 6-3 score. The set loss marks only the 11th time in Falcon’s 38 matches this season that she has lost a set.

Falcon regained her swagger in the third set as she coasted to 6-2 set victory to advance to the round of 16.

“Catrina Thompson played really well and picked up her level after the first four or five games of the first set,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “Catrina came out strong in the second set and I think that may have caught Megan off guard. Megan rebounded well and picked up her level in the middle of the third set to close out.”

Action resumes Friday at 9 a.m. CDT.

NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship

Round of 32
May 24, 2007
(2) #2 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #30 Catrina Thompson (Notre Dame), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

Round of 16
May 25, 2007
(2) #2 Megan Falcon (LSU; 36-2 overall) vs. (4) #12 Zsuzsanna Fodor (California; 32-14 overall), 9 a.m. CDT

NCAA Women’s Tennis Doubles Championship
May 24, 2007
Round of 32
#59 Maria Anisimova/Kate Kosminskaya (Penn) def. #30 Megan Falcon/Hannah Robinson (LSU), 6-4, 6-4

NCAA Tournament seed in parenthesis before name
# – indicates ITA national ranking entering tournament