BERKELEY, Calif. — The LSU women’s tennis season was ended by eighth-ranked California, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Cal’s Hellman Tennis Complex on Saturday.
In doubles, LSU (15-10) fell behind early as Cal quickly won on court 2, 8-0. Cal’s Marina Cossou and Claire Ilcinkas defeated Hannah Robinson and Tiffany Tucker to give Cal (18-5) an early advantage.
On court 3, Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer held tough as they fell behind 4-1 but fought back to even the match at 4-all against Cal’s 54th-ranked Bojana Bobusic and Cristina Visico. The two teams traded games to reach 5-all, but Bobusic and Visico won the next three games to clinch the doubles point, 8-5, for the Golden Bears.
When doubles was clinched, Cal’s 12th-ranked duo of Susie Babos and Stephanie Kusano was leading LSU’s 22nd-ranked Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg, 6-3.
“Cal played a very good match,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “I was very impressed with their team. They jumped on us in doubles and played relentlessly. They played well and deserved to win.”
Cal continued its sharp play in singles as 40th-ranked Ilcinkas beat Kantor, 6-3, 6-1, on court 4 to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead.
Cal’s 4th-ranked Cossou put Cal up 3-0 with a, 6-2, 6-0, win over Hedberg on court 2.
LSU’s season came to an end on court 3 when No. 35 Visico defeated Robinson, 6-3, 6-0, to clinch the match 4-0.
With the loss, two Lady Tigers’ careers have ended. Senior Tiffany Tucker finished her career with 63 singles victories and 63 doubles wins.
“Tiffany fought hard,” Minnis said. “It was unfortunate that she got injured this year because she had really stepped up her game and worked hard over the summer. For her to come back and win against Washington State and compete hard against Cal makes me proud of how she finished out her career.”
LSU’s other senior was Anastasiya Dubova, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Long Beach State in the second match of the season. Dubova finished her career with 43 singles victories and 30 doubles wins.
“It was unfortunate that Anastasiya really never got a chance to get her senior year started,” Minnis said. “I feel bad for her because you hate to see kids end their career off the court, but that type of thing can happen. She contributed to our program, and we wish her well in the future.”
Even though the team season is over, 15th-ranked Falcon will compete in the singles portion of the NCAA Tennis Championships held at Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., May 21-26.
No. 22 Falcon and Hedberg will also compete in the doubles portion of the NCAA Tennis Championships May 21-26 in Tulsa.
#8 Cal 4, #27 LSU 0
NCAA Tournament Second Round
May 10, 2008 at Berkeley, Calif.
Singles competition:
1. #20 Susie Babos (Cal) led #15 Megan Falcon (LSU) 6-3, 1-2, unfinished
2. #4 Marina Cossou (Cal) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-2, 6-0
3. #35 Cristina Visico (Cal) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. #40 Claire Ilcinkas (Cal) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Stephanie Kusano (Cal) led Staten Spencer (LSU) 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
6. #92 Bojana Bobusic (Cal) led Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles competition:
1. #12 Susie Babos/Stephanie Kusano (Cal) led #22 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-3, unfinished
2. Marina Cossou/Claire Ilcinkas (Cal) def. Hannah Robinson/Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 8-0
3. #54 Bojana Bobusic/Cristina Visico (Cal) def. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,2,3)
Lady Tigers Tennis Shutout in NCAA Second Round, 4-0