MALIBU, Calif. — After losing the doubles point, the LSU women’s tennis team could not catch up in singles as the Lady Tigers lost to 19th-ranked Pepperdine, 4-3, at the Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center on Monday.
For the second consecutive match LSU (2-1) lost the doubles point. Pepperdine’s Jill Braverman and Tania Rice beat Hannah Robinson and Nicole Kantor on court three, 8-4. The No. 30 duo of Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer kept LSU in it by knocking off the Waves’ 35th-ranked combo of Anete Bandere and Anamika Bhargava, 8-2. However, LSU’s Megan Falcon and Tiffany Tucker lost, 8-4, on court one to surrender the doubles point to Pepperdine.
The Lady Tigers evened the match at 1-1 when eighth-ranked Falcon breezed past Bianca Dulgheru, 6-1, 6-3. Pepperdine (2-2) took the lead 2-1 after Bhargava snapped Tucker’s nine match win streak by beating her in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
LSU tied the match at 2-2 when Kantor beat Alex Liles on court four in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, but the Waves responded as Braverman defeated Spencer on court six, 6-2, 7-5. Then, to clinch the win for Pepperdine, No. 99 Sylvia Kosakowski defeated Hedberg in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Despite knowing LSU had lost, Robinson kept battling on court five and eventually pulled out a tough victory, 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 over Bandere to make the final score 4-3.
“I was pleased with the effort we gave,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We had opportunities to win different matches but didn’t pull through. Hopefully we can learn and get better from this match.”
After suffering their first loss of the season, the Lady Tigers will have little time to think about it as they head to Irvine, Calif., for the final match of the West Coast tour to take on UC-Irvine (0-2) at Anteater Tennis Stadium at 3:30 p.m. CT Tuesday.
This will be the first ever meeting between LSU and UC-Irvine.
#19 Pepperdine 4, #33 LSU 3
February 4, 2008 at Malibu, Calif.
Singles competition:
1. #8 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Bianca Dulgheru (PEP) 6-1, 6-3
2. #99 Sylvia Kosakowski (PEP) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
3. Anamika Bhargava (PEP) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Alex Liles (PEP) 6-4, 7-5
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Anete Bandere (PEP) 6-4, 4-6, 12-10
6. Jill Braverman (PEP) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition:
1. Bianca Dulgheru/Sylvia Kosakowski (PEP) def. Megan Falcon/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 8-4
2. #30 Mykala Hedberg/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. #35 Anete Bandere/Anamika Bhargava (PEP) 8-2
3. Jill Braverman/Tania Rice (PEP) def. Hannah Robinson/Nicole Kantor (LSU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,4,6,2,5)