BATON ROUGE — After losing the doubles point, the LSU women’s tennis team won four singles matches and rallied past Auburn, 4-3, at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium on Sunday.
LSU (7-3, 2-0 SEC) picked up one win in doubles as Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer cruised past Auburn’s Jil Hastenrath and Gaby Beelen, 8-1. Auburn (8-3, 1-1 SEC) won the doubles point by winning courts one and three.
After falling behind 1-0, Spencer and Hannah Robinson posted identical, 6-2, 6-0, scores to put LSU up 2-1.
However, Auburn answered back when No. 50 Fani Chifchieva upset No. 15 Megan Falcon, 6-2, 6-4. The defeat marked the first time in Falcon’s career that she lost a dual match. Entering the match she was 32-0.
When Tiffany Tucker lost on court three, Auburn went up 3-2. In order to win the match, LSU had to win on courts two and four.
It looked bleak when Kantor fell behind 3-6, 0-4, to Whitney Chappell on court four, but Kantor reeled off five straight games to take the lead 5-4 in the second set. She won the set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (0), and went up 3-0 in the third before Chappell was forced to retire due to an injury to her leg. Kantor’s come-from-behind win tied the match at 3-3.
The final match was a back-and-forth battle as Mykala Hedberg won the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2). After falling behind 4-1 in the second set, Auburn’s Alex Haney rallied to win the set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (1). In a match that lasted over three hours, Hedberg pulled out the grueling win, 6-4, in the third set to clinch the match and the comeback victory for LSU.
“I’m really proud of the team,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “Their effort was strong. They showed a lot of character. They have been working hard, and for them to come through with the win should give them a lot of confidence. We know the SEC is brutal, so we just have to take it one match at a time.”
LSU’s next match will be Friday, March 7, as the Lady Tigers travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on No. 22 Kentucky (10-3, 1-1 SEC) at 2 p.m. CT.
#34 LSU 4, #29 Auburn 3
March 2, 2008 at Baton Rouge, La.
Singles competition:
1. #50 Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. #15 Megan Falcon (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Alex Haney (AU) 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4
3. Melissa Koning (AU) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-2, 7-6 (2)
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Whitney Chappell (AU) 3-6, 7-6 (0), 3-0 (retired)
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Jil Hastenrath (AU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Dunja Djuranovic (AU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1. Alex Haney/Melissa Koning (AU) def. Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 8-1
2. Fani Chifchieva/Whitney Chappell (AU) def. Tiffany Tucker/Hannah Robinson (LSU) 8-4
3. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Jil Hastenrath/Gaby Beelen (AU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,1,3,4,2)