BATON ROUGE — Fresh off the program’s first victory over Florida, the 24th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team defeated No. 30 South Carolina, 5-2, in a grueling, five-hour duel on senior day Sunday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The three seniors who played against the Gamecocks won their singles matches, while junior Nicole Kantor provided the match-clinching win on court 4 to seal the victory.
“This was our hardest fought match of the year,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “I was happy that we came through at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. To win the doubles point and not win on court 1 says a lot. We fought hard because they are an excellent team, and this was a great win.”
LSU (13-6, 3-4 SEC) got off to an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point when courts 2 and 3 won their matches.
Court 3 finished first when senior Staten Spencer and Kantor cruised past South Carolina’s Suzanna Mansour and Dijana Stojic 8-3, and junior Hannah Robinson and freshman Whitney Wolf clinched the doubles point on court 2 by beating Miljana Jocic and Gira Schofield 8-5.
The Lady Tigers kept the momentum rolling in singles as Spencer, a native of Memphis, Tenn., finished her last career home match by winning in convincing fashion over Mansour 6-3, 6-0 on court 6 to put LSU up 2-0.
No. 17 Megan Falcon, a senior from Alameda, Calif., wrapped up her brilliant career at home with a straight-set 6-2, 6-4 triumph over No. 59 Gira Schofield on court 1 to increase the Lady Tigers’ lead to 3-0. The win improved Falcon’s overall record to 28-6 on the season and 93-16 for her career, moving her into 12th place in LSU history for most career singles victories.
South Carolina (11-8, 4-4) cut LSU’s lead to 3-1 when Jocic defeated Robinson 7-5, 6-1 on court 5, and the Gamecocks pulled within 3-2 when Stojic was able to pull out a three-set victory over Wolf 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 on court 3.
With the match tightening up, Kantor sealed the victory for the Lady Tigers by earning a three-set win over Natasa Vuckovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 on court 4. The victory marked Kantor’s 23rd of the season and gave LSU a 4-2 advantage.
Mykala Hedberg, a senior from Oxnard, Calif., put the finishing touches on the Lady Tigers’ impressive victory by upsetting South Carolina’s 52nd-ranked Ana Marija Zubori 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on court 2 to give LSU the 5-2 final score. Hedberg’s win concluded the five-hour match for a triumphant senior day.
With the win LSU has now been victorious on senior day four straight seasons. Before the match, LSU honored its four seniors ? Falcon, Hedberg, Spencer and Chandler Kleinpeter. Kleinpeter has been unable to play most of this season because of a back injury.
After wrapping up the regular season schedule at home, the Lady Tigers will travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss Friday at 3 p.m. CDT.
#24 LSU 5, #30 South Carolina 2
April 5, 2009 at Baton Rouge, La. (W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium)
Singles
1. #17 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. #59 Gira Schofield (USC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. #52 Ana Marija Zubori (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Dijana Stojic (USC) def. Whitney Wolf (LSU) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Natasa Vuckovic (USC) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Miljana Jocic (USC) def. Hannah Robinson (LSU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Suzanna Mansour (USC) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
1. #63 Natasa Vuckovic/Ana Marija Zubori (USC) def. #17 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 9-8 (11-9)
2. Hannah Robinson/Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Miljana Jocic/Gira Schofield (USC) 8-5
3. Nicole Kantor/Staten Spencer (LSU) def. Suzanna Mansour/Dijana Stojic (USC) 8-3
Match Notes:
South Carolina 11-8, 4-4 SEC; National ranking #30
LSU 13-6, 3-4 SEC; National ranking #24
Four seniors were honored today at Senior Day.
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,5,3,4,2)