BATON ROUGE — The 23rd-ranked LSU women’s tennis team dropped a tough match to No. 26 Florida State, 5-2, but the Lady Tigers recovered one hour later to defeat Southern, 6-1, Sunday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Against the Seminoles, LSU captured the doubles point in a back-and-forth affair. Court 3 finished first as Florida State’s Bonny Davidson and Katie Rybakova defeated Hannah Robinson and Nicole Smith 8-4.
The Lady Tigers answered right back by taking courts 1 and 2 to win the doubles point. Fifteenth-ranked Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg knocked off Noemie Scharle and Federica Suess 8-3, and Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer clinched the point by defeating Lauren Macfarlane and Jessica Sucupira 8-6.
“I have to give credit to Florida State because they played a great match,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “They came out with a lot of energy, heart and desire. We had opportunities, but Florida State stepped up and played good tennis.”
Florida State (6-2) came out strong in singles by taking a 2-1 lead. Ania Rynarzewska finished first by topping Smith 6-1, 6-3, on court 5, and 48th-ranked Scharle took down Hedberg 6-3, 6-2.
LSU responded to even the match at 2-2 when 12th-ranked Falcon defeated No. 23 Rybakova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
After a battle in the second set, Robinson could not overcome No. 81 Suess as Robinson fell 6-3, 7-6(1) in a second-set tiebreaker. The Seminoles clinched the match on court 3 when Macfarlane slipped past Kantor 6-4, 6-4. Sucupira finished the match on court 6 by defeating Spencer 5-7, 7-3, 6-0 to give Florida State the 5-2 win.
With the loss the Lady Tigers fell to 5-2 on the season and now trail the Seminoles in the all-time series, 9-8.
Against Southern (0-3), LSU won doubles when Falcon and Hedberg were victorious 8-3 on court 1 over Kathryn Curtis and Megan Wiltz. The two wins on the day pushed the duo’s record to 19-3.
“It was good to bounce back an hour after the first match to pick up a win against Southern,” Minnis said. “I was proud of the way we recovered after the tough loss.”
The Jaguars were competing with only five players, so Southern was forced to default on court 6 in singles, giving LSU a 2-0 advantage. Hedberg gave the Lady Tigers a 3-0 lead when she cruised past Curtis 6-1, 6-0 on court 2.
Sophomore Kylie Adamek clinched the match for LSU (6-2) on court 4 with a straight-set 6-0, 6-2 victory over Southern’s Gabrielle Marshall. Kantor gave the Lady Tigers a 5-0 lead when she breezed past Southern’s Bethlehem Workeneh 6-2, 6-0 on court 3.
Falcon earned her 85th career victory to put LSU up 6-0 when she defeated Wiltz 6-0, 6-1.
The Jaguars fended off the sweep on court 5 when Janelle Mosley defeated junior Sloane Mathis 6-1, 7-5 to make the final score 6-1 LSU.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 28, when LSU travels to Lafayette, La., to take on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns at 2 p.m. CT.
#26 Florida State 5, #23 LSU 2
February 22, 2009 at Baton Rouge, La. (W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium)
Singles
1. #12 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #23 Katie Rybakova (FSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. #48 Noemie Scharle (FSU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Lauren Macfarlane (FSU) def. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. #81 Federica Suess (FSU) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 6-3, 7-6(1)
5. Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) def. Nicole Smith (LSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Jessica Sucupira (FSU) def. Staten Spencer (LSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
1. #15 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Noemie Scharle/Federica Suess (FSU) 8-3
2. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Lauren Macfarlane/Jessica Sucupira (FSU) 8-6
3. Bonny Davidson/Katie Rybakova (FSU) def. Hannah Robinson/Nicole Smith (LSU) 8-4
Match Notes
LSU 5-2; National ranking #23
Florida State 6-2; National ranking #26
Order of Finish
Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,2,1,4,3,6)
#23 LSU 6, Southern 1
February 22, 2009 at Baton Rouge, La. (W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium)
Singles
1. #12 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Megan Wiltz (SU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Kathryn Curtis (SU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Bethlehem Workeneh (SU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Kylie Adamek (LSU) def. Gabrielle Marshall (SU) 6-0, 6-2
5. Janelle Mosley (SU) def. Sloane Mathis (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Hannah Robinson (LSU) won by default
Doubles
1. #15 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Kathryn Curtis/Megan Wiltz (SU) 8-2
2. Gabrielle Marshall/Bethlehem Workeneh (SU) def. Kylie Adamek/Sloane Mathis (LSU) 7-6(3)
3. Nicole Kantor/Nicole Smith (LSU) won by default
Match Notes
LSU 6-2; National ranking #23
Southern 0-3
Order of Finish
Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,4,3,1,5)