BATON ROUGE — Mykala Hedberg pulled out a three-set victory in singles to lead the 20th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team to a 4-3 upset victory over No. 13 Kentucky Sunday afternoon in W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
Because of the threat of rain in the Baton Rouge area all weekend, the teams began the match in singles play, and LSU (8-4, 1-2 SEC) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead.
“I was really proud of how we responded today. It showed a lot of character of our team,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We had a couple tough losses last weekend, so we are pleased with how we performed today. Hopefully it is the beginning of something good.”
On court 6, Staten Spencer continued her strong play by rolling past Kentucky’s Caroline Lilley 6-3, 6-2 to put LSU up 1-0 in the overall match.
No. 12 Megan Falcon earned the 88th singles win of her career by defeating No. 96 Megan Broderick 7-6(3), 6-0, and her victory put the Lady Tigers up 2-0.
Junior Nicole Kantor improved her record to 19-8 and put LSU up 3-0 on court 4 by knocking off the Wildcats’ Whitney Spencer in straight sets 6-4, 6-0.
Kentucky (9-3, 1-3) would not give up as Christine Johnston came back to defeat freshman Whitney Wolf in three sets 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on court 3, and the Wildcats pulled within 3-2 when Lauren Meier beat junior Hannah Robinson 7-5, 6-4 on court 5.
The Lady Tigers would not be denied as Hedberg clinched the match at 4-2 in a gritty effort by earning a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over Carolina Escamilla on court 2.
“I am really proud of Mykala for coming back,” Minnis said. “She got off to a rough start at the beginning of the season, and to her credit she did some extra training and has built up her confidence. She is playing well.”
Hedberg’s victory proved to be crucial as Kentucky won two out of three doubles matches to win the doubles point.
Court 2 finished first as Kentucky’s Broderick and Johnston defeated Robinson and Wolf 8-1.
On court 1, 17th-ranked Falcon and Hedberg earned their 11th-straight win and improved their season record to 23-3 by breezing past Kentucky’s 53rd-ranked Escamilla and Lilley 8-2. The victory also improved Falcon and Hedberg’s record to 6-1 against ranked foes.
The Wildcats clinched the doubles point on court 3 when Meier and Whitney Spencer defeated Kantor and Staten Spencer 8-4.
Kentucky’s win on court 3 provided the final score of 4-3 in favor of LSU.
After the upset win, the Lady Tigers will prepare for a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at Dub Robinson Stadium as LSU will play host to Oregon at noon CDT followed by Grambling State at 4 p.m.
#20 LSU 4, #13 Kentucky 3
March 15, 2009 at Baton Rouge, La. (W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium)
Singles
1. #12 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #96 Megan Broderick (UK) 7-6(3), 6-0
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Carolina Escamilla (UK) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
3. Christine Johnston (UK) def. Whitney Wolf (LSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Whitney Spencer (UK) 6-4, 6-0
5. Lauren Meier (UK) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Caroline Lilley (UK) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. #17 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. #53 Carolina Escamilla/Caroline Lilley (UK) 8-2
2. Megan Broderick/Christine Johnston (UK) def. Hannah Robinson/Whitney Wolf (LSU) 8-1
3. Lauren Meier/Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) 8-4
Match Notes
LSU 8-4; National ranking #20
Kentucky 9-3; National ranking #13
Order of Finish
Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,4,3,5,2)
Falcon, Hedberg to Play in NCAA Individual Draws