COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Battling through two rain delays and a facility change, the 23rd-ranked LSU women’s tennis team picked up a huge road win at No. 27 Texas A&M, 4-3, Sunday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center and the City of Bryan Indoor Tennis Center.
LSU (5-1) had to overcome both an early deficit after losing the doubles point against the Aggies and the elements to come out victorious.
“That was about as hard-fought a match as I have ever been involved in. We were down 95 percent of the time, but that was all guts and will by our players. We didn’t play our best tennis, but it is difficult to play at A&M,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said.
Roughly 25 minutes into the match rain interrupted doubles play, and the delay lasted 30 minutes. When the two teams resumed play, Texas A&M (3-2) claimed the first win on court 2 when Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank defeated Hannah Robinson and Whitney Wolf 8-4. LSU’s 17th-ranked Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg evened things up at 1-1 by knocking off Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles 8-4 on court 1. The victory improved the duo’s record to 17-3 and a perfect 5-0 in dual play.
The Aggies answered right back on court 3 to take the doubles point when Sheri Olivier and Elze Potgieter claimed an 8-5 win over Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer.
Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Lady Tigers quickly fell into a deeper hole when Texas A&M won the first two singles matches. Frank defeated Hedberg 6-1, 6-2 on court 2 to push the Aggie lead to 2-0, and Olivier pushed past Robinson 6-3, 6-2 on court 5.
After falling behind 3-0 LSU proceeded to rally in the final four singles matches to snatch the victory from the Aggies.
Fifth-ranked Falcon put the Lady Tigers on the scoreboard with a straight-set 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Potgieter on court 1. Falcon earned her team-leading 18th victory of the season.
Spencer, playing on court 6, fell behind A&M’s Davidson 4-2 in the first set, but she rallied to win the next eight games to take the first set 6-4 and build a 4-0 lead in the second. Davidson took the next three games to cut Spencer’s second-set lead to 4-3, but Spencer responded by winning the next two games to win the match 6-4, 6-3.
After Spencer’s victory LSU trailed 3-2 with two matches remaining. On court 3, Kantor and Liles were locked in a heated match as Kantor won the first set 6-2, but Liles answered with a 6-3 decision in the second set. On court 4, the freshman Wolf battled back after dropping the first set 7-5 to win the second set 6-4 over A&M’s Lauren Santacroce.
The third set of Wolf’s match had not begun and Kantor was trailing 1-0 in the third set when heavy rains battered the Mitchell Tennis Center, forcing the teams to travel to Bryan, Texas to complete the match in the City of Bryan Indoor Tennis Center.
“Playing indoor tennis early in the season paid off today because going inside halfway through the match was not as big a deal because our girls were ready,” Minnis said.
The second rain delay lasted more than one hour before play resumed in the indoor facility. After battling back to win the second set 6-4 at A&M’s home stadium, Wolf turned out the lights on Santacroce by racing to a 6-0 third set victory.
With the team score knotted at 3-all, the match would be decided on court 3 between Kantor and Liles. Already trailing 1-0 when the match resumed on the indoor court, Kantor rallied to win the next two games to take a 2-1 lead. Kantor and Liles traded games until the score was tied at 4-4. Kantor completed the LSU comeback by claiming the final two games to win a grueling, hard-fought match 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and give LSU the final victory, 4-3.
“That was the most gutsy match I have ever seen Nicole play. She fought so hard and showed a lot of heart. I am extremely proud of all the girls’ effort and how hard they fought.” Minnis said.
After spending more than five hours on the courts against Texas A&M, the Lady Tigers will have two weeks to rest and prepare for their next matches Feb. 22 in a doubleheader against Florida State and Southern beginning at noon CST in W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
#23 LSU 4, #27 Texas A&M 3
February 8, 2009 at College Station, Texas (George P. Mitchell Tennis Center/ City of Bryan Indoor Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #5 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Elze Potgieter (A&M) 6-1, 6-4
2. Morgan Frank (A&M) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Christi Liles (A&M) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Lauren Santacroce (A&M) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
5. Sheri Olivier (A&M) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Stephanie Davidson (A&M) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. #17 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Janelle Cuthbertson/Christi Liles (A&M) 8-4
2. Stephanie Davidson/Morgan Frank (A&M) def. Hannah Robinson/Whitney Wolf (LSU) 8-4
3. Sheri Olivier/Elze Potgieter (A&M) def. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) 8-5
Match Notes
LSU 5-1; National Ranking #23
Texas A&M 3-2; National Ranking #27
Order of Finish
Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,1,6,4,3)