LONG BEACH, Calif. — The LSU women’s tennis team swept all six singles matches to knock off Long Beach State, 6-1, at the El Dorado Tennis Courts Saturday.
LSU (2-0) fell behind 1-0 early when Long Beach State won two of three doubles matches to claim the first point. On court three, the Lady Tigers had to retire down 2-1 as senior Anastasiya Dubova suffered an injury to her ankle. On court two, 30th-ranked Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer continued to play well, defeating Long Beach’s Stephanie Jeanes and Jessica Weeks, 8-6. However, on court one, LSU’s Megan Falcon and Tiffany Tucker fell, 8-3, to give Long Beach State (2-3) the doubles point.
“I was really proud of the girls,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “They came through under pretty tough conditions after defaulting one doubles match. We responded well in singles and came through with victory. I was pleased with the overall effort.”
After losing the doubles point, LSU bounced back by winning all six singles matches, four of which were straight-set victories. On court two, Hedberg got things rolling with a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Deborah Armstrong. Tucker followed Hedberg by knocking off Stephanie Bengson on court three, 6-4, 6-2. The victory marks the ninth-straight for Tucker, who leads the team in singles wins with 11. On court six, junior Staten Spencer defeated Lisa Sutton, 6-0, 6-3 to give the Lady Tigers a commanding 3-1 lead in the match.
Sophomore Hannah Robinson clinched the match for LSU on court five with a straight-set, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Weeks. The Lady Tigers closed out by winning two tough matches. On court one, No. 8 Falcon defeated Hannah Grady, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. On court four, sophomore Nicole Kantor came back from behind to knock off Jeanes in a hard-fought match, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.
LSU will travel to Malibu, Calif., to take on the stiffest competition yet, 18th-ranked Pepperdine (1-2) on Monday.
#33 LSU 6, #38 Long Beach State 1
February 2, 2008 at Long Beach, Calif.
Singles competition:
1. #8 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Hannah Grady (LBSU) 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Deborah Armstrong (LBSU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Stephanie Bengson (LBSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Stephanie Jeanes (LBSU) 4-6, 7-6, 7-5
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Jessica Weeks (LBSU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Lisa Sutton (LBSU) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. Hannah Grady/Stephanie Bengson (LBSU) def. Megan Falcon/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 8-3
2. #30 Mykala Hedberg/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Stephanie Jeanes/Jessica Weeks (LBSU) 8-6
3. Deborah Armstrong/Lisa Sutton (LBSU) def. Hannah Robinson/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) 2-1, retired
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,3,6,5,1,4)