IRVINE, Calif. — One day after losing its first match of the season, the LSU women’s tennis team bounced back by dominating UC Irvine, 6-1, at Anteater Tennis Stadium Tuesday.
LSU (3-1) started off hot by sweeping all three doubles matches. On court three, sophomore Nicole Kantor teamed up with senior Tiffany Tucker to beat Becky Bernhard and Ali Borowicz, 8-1. Megan Falcon and Hannah Robinson defeated Jessica Broadfoot and Heidi Kaloi, 8-4, on court two, and the 30th-ranked duo of Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer moved up to court one where they beat Inna Agababian and Clare Fermin, 8-4.
In singles, Tucker increased LSU’s lead to 2-0 when she defeated Fermin, 6-1, 6-2. Eighth-ranked Falcon made it a 3-0 advantage when she took out Bernhard in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
UC Irvine (0-3) picked up its only point of the match on court six when Borowicz beat freshman Kylie Adamek, who was filling in for an injured Spencer, 6-0, 7-6(5). Spencer suffered an injury to her hip but is expected to be ready to go for LSU’s next match.
“I was really pleased with the way we competed,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We dealt with adversity when Staten got hurt. We came out, played a solid team and came away with a quality win. We have been able to beat three teams on the road that made the NCAA tournament last season, so I am pretty happy with where we are.”
Robinson clinched the match for the Lady Tigers in No. 5 singles when she defeated Brooke Bartlett, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Kantor made it 5-1 when she knocked off Broadfoot on court four, 6-1, 7-6(1), and Hedberg capped the match with a straight-set, 6-3, 6-4, victory over Agababian on court two.
After closing out the West Coast swing, the Lady Tigers return to Baton Rouge for the home opener Sunday, Feb. 10, against Texas A&M. The match begins at noon, and the first 100 fans to see the Lady Tigers take on the Aggies will receive a free ticket to watch the LSU women’s basketball team play Georgia later that day in the 12th annual Pack the PMAC presented by Lady Tiger Depot promotional game.
#34 LSU 6, #36 UC Irvine 1
February 5, 2008 at Irvine, Calif.
Singles competition:
1. #8 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Becky Bernhard (UCI) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Inna Agababian (UCI) 6-3, 6-4
3. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Clare Fermin (UCI) 6-1, 6-2
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Jessica Broadfoot (UCI) 6-1, 7-6(1)
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Brooke Bartlett (UCI) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Ali Borowicz (UCI) def. Kylie Adamek (LSU) 6-0, 7-6(5)
Doubles competition:
1. #30 Mykala Hedberg/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Inna Agababian/Clare Fermin (UCI) 8-4
2. Hannah Robinson/Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Jessica Broadfoot/Heidi Kaloi (UCI) 8-4
3. Nicole Kantor/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Becky Bernhard/Ali Borowicz (UCI) 8-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,1,6,5,4,2)