BATON ROUGE — After a three-hour rain delay, the 21st-ranked LSU women’s tennis team gave head coach Tony Minnis his 250th-career victory against Oregon, 5-2.
The feat made Minnis the winningest coach in program history.
“I’m about as proud of a team as I’ve ever been to have two starters out and how we pulled together and played hard,” said Minnis. “Oregon almost beat Alabama, so they are a very tough team. I’m really excited about the effort and everything that transpired tonight.”
LSU (11-4, 1-2 SEC) jumped ahead early as freshmen Whitney Wolf finished first on court two when she took down Pavlina Smatova 6-2, 6-2, and freshman Nicole Smith defeated Siobhan Cavan 6-1, 6-1 on court five.
Trudie du Troit of Oregon (7-9, 0-0 Pac-10) gave the Ducks their only point as she beat Kylie Adamek 6-2, 6-2 on court six.
On court four, Hannah Robinson cruised past Madelie Janse van Rensburg 6-4, 6-2 as she gave the Lady Tigers a 3-2 advantage over the Ducks.
Nicole Kantor, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., clinched the overall match on court three when she took down Ana Cecilia Olivos 6-2, 6-4. Kantor advanced her record to 22-8 on the season.
Carmen Seremeta took the first set against Mykala Hedberg 6-3, but Hedberg rebounded as she raced past Seremeta 7-6 in the second set and then 11-9 in a super tiebreaker to give the Lady Tigers their fifth and final point.
Because of the threat of rain in the Baton Rouge area, the doubles point was not played.
The Lady Tigers will return to SEC play Friday as they take on No. 2 Georgia at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. CDT.
#21 LSU 5, #57 Oregon 1
March 25, 2009 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
Singles
1. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Carmen Seremeta 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (11-9)
2. Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Pavlina Smatova (UO) 6-2, 6-2
3. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Ana Cecilia Olivos (UO) 6-2, 6-4
4. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Madelie Janse van Rensburg (UO) 6-4, 6-2
5. Nicole Smith (LSU) def. Siobhan Cavan (UO) 6-1, 6-1
6. Trudie du Troit (UO) def. Kylie Adamek (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish
Singles (2, 5,6,4,3,1)
Match Notes
LSU 11-4; National ranking #21
Oregon 7-9; National ranking #57