BATON ROUGE — After finishing the fall on a four-match win streak including a victory over last season’s NCAA singles champion, Megan Falcon of the LSU women’s tennis team checked in at No. 5 in the first spring national rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday.
Falcon finished 13-4, including a 5-4 mark against ranked opponents, in fall tournament play as she captured a singles title at the Gopher Invitational in September and ended the fall by winning the consolation title at the ITA National Indoor Championships. In the consolation final, Falcon, who was ranked No. 15 at the time, defeated third-ranked Amanda McDowell of Georgia Tech, 6-3, 6-3. McDowell won the NCAA singles title in May 2008.
This season marks the third straight year Falcon has earned a Top 10 ranking to begin the season as Falcon began the 2008 dual season ranked eighth and began her sophomore campaign in 2007 ranked second.
Falcon and fellow senior Mykala Hedberg checked in at No. 17 in the national doubles rankings after completing the fall with a solid 12-3 record. Falcon and Hedberg began the fall at 6-1 before rattling off five straight victories in the Southwest Regional Championships to win the doubles title. The victory in the Southwest Regional final marked the first time a duo under Tony Minnis has captured the regional title.
In the Southwest Regional rankings also released on Tuesday, Falcon was listed at No. 2 in singles behind TCU’s Nina Munch-Soegaard. Falcon fell to Munch-Soegaard in the quarterfinal round of the Southwest Regional Championships in October.
Besides Falcon three other Lady Tigers were listed in the Southwest Region rankings as Hedberg came in at No. 21 while junior Nicole Kantor was No. 25 and freshman Whitney Wolf was No. 30.
Two pairs of Lady Tigers were listed in the doubles regional rankings as Falcon and Hedberg topped the list at No. 1 while Kantor and Wolf checked in at No. 13.
LSU will open the season Jan. 17 in Boulder, Colo., against Colorado at 11 a.m. CST.