BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team beat New Mexico, 6-1, and swept Grambling, 7-0, in a doubleheader at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium Saturday.
Against New Mexico (3-3), the Lady Tigers swept all three doubles matches to go up 1-0 in the match. Megan Falcon paired with Mykala Hedberg on court one, and the duo knocked off Lucy Scott and Sandra Zmak, 8-3. Tiffany Tucker and Hannah Robinson clinched the doubles point on court two with an 8-4 win over Jennifer Ryba and Victoria Tessmar.
In singles, LSU (5-2) continued its strong play as Falcon cruised past Ola Abou-Zekry in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, and Hedberg breezed by Mackenzie White, 6-1, 6-1 to quickly put the Lady Tigers up 3-0.
After falling behind 4-2 in the first set against Ryba on court six, Staten Spencer reeled off nine games in a row to go up, 6-4, 5-0. Spencer closed out the second set, 6-1, to clinch the match for LSU.
Before the match was complete, the Lady Tigers claimed two more wins. On court four, Nicole Kantor dominated in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Scott, and on court five, Robinson overcame a one-set deficit to win in a third-set tiebreaker over Emma Hayman, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 10-8.
“I felt good about the matches,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We knew New Mexico would be a good team. They have a consistent program. I’m excited we came out and took care of business. With Grambling, to come back out and beat them was nice, so I’m pretty happy about the day. Now, we need to rest up and get ready for the remainder of the season.”
Against Grambling (0-3), LSU swept doubles and only dropped two games in all three matches. In singles, Tucker set the pace on court one by sweeping Maia Semerdjieva, 6-0, 6-0. Two other Lady Tigers recorded double-bagel victories, while two others only dropped one game in straight-set wins.
LSU will not play again until Sunday, Feb. 24, when the Lady Tigers travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida State.
#35 LSU 6, #62 New Mexico 1
February 16, 2008
Singles competition:
1. #8 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Ola Abou-Zekry (UNM) 6-1, 6-2
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Mackenzie White (UNM) 6-1, 6-1
3. #85 Sandra Zmak (UNM) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Lucy Scott (UNM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Emma Hayman (UNM) 6-7 (5), 6-3, 10-8
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Jennifer Ryba (UNM) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Lucy Scott/Sandra Zmak (UNM) 8-3
2. Tiffany Tucker/Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Jennifer Ryba/Victoria Tessmar (UNM) 8-4
3. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Ola Abou-Zekry/Maria Sotirchos (UNM) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,6,3,4,5)
#35 LSU 7, Grambling 0
February 16, 2008
Singles competition:
1. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Maia Semerdjieva (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0
2. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Sino Ndlabhu (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0
3. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Nulo Ndlabhu (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0
4. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Faaith Williams (GRAM) 6-1, 6-0
5. Kylie Adamek (LSU) def. Patricia Gallegos (GRAM) 6-1, 6-0
6. Sloane Mathis (LSU) def. Airiea Williams (GRAM) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Sino Ndlabhu/Nulo Ndlabhu (GRAM) 8-0
2. Tiffany Tucker/Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Maia Semerdjieva/Faaith Williams (GRAM) 8-0
3. Sloane Mathis/Kylie Adamek (LSU) def. Patricia Gallegos/Airiea Williams (GRAM) 8-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,4,2,6,5)