STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 16 LSU women’s tennis team dropped their match to Mississippi State at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Sunday.
Due to the threat of rain in the Starkville area, the singles matches were played first.
Seventeenth-ranked Megan Falcon finished first on court one as she took down Martina Banikova 6-0,6-0. Falcon advanced her season record to 30-6 on the season and is just five short of claiming her 100th career victory as she is now 95-16. She is tied for 11th with Carol Boston for the all-time winningest players in LSU’s program history.
On court two, Olesya Tsigvintseva defeated Mykala Hedberg 6-2,6-4.
Junior Hannah Robinson took her first set over Daniela Juskova 6-1 on court five but then dropped the second set 0-6. Robinson bounced back to take the third set 6-2 as she gave the Lady Tigers a 2-1 advantage.
Lady Tiger Nicole Kantor finished fourth on court four as she raced past Elna de Villiers 6-3,6-2. Kantor extended her season record to 24-12.
On court six, Staten Spencer won her first set against Valeriya Makarycheva 6-2 but could not keep the lead as Makarycheva took the next two sets 6-2,7-5.
Freshman Whitney Wolf defeated Radka Ferancova 6-3 but lost the second and third sets in a hard-fought battle 6(1)-7,6(3)-7 on court three as Ferancova tied the match at 3-3.
After a rain delay, the doubles point was played indoors.
Since only two courts were available indoors, No. 17 Falcon and Hedberg battled Mississippi State’s (10-8, 1-8 SEC) Banikova and de Villiers but were unable to come out with a win after a back and forth affair 8(2)-9. On court two, Robinson and Wolf dueled Natalia Mayuk and Tsigvintseva but also fell to the Mississippi State duo after a close match 8(1)-9.
Since the Lady Tigers (13-8, 3-6) do not practice indoors, the indoor doubles match posed many problems for the team. The conditions of the indoor facility differ from outdoor courts and affect the pace of the ball.
“Mississippi State came out and played with a lot of hunger,” said head coach Tony Minnis. “They have struggled this year, but they came out and played a great match.”
The Lady Tigers will be back in action to square off against No. 14 Arkansas Saturday for their final regular season match. First serve is set for noon at the UA Varsity Courts in Fayetteville, Ark.
#67 MSU 4, #16 LSU 3
April 12, 2009 at Starkville, Miss. (A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre)
Singles
1. #17 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Martina Banikova 6-0,6-0
2. Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Mykala Hedberg 6-2,6-4
3. Radka Ferancova (MSU) def. Whitney Wolf 3-6,7-6(1),7-6(3)
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Elna de Villiers 6-3,6-2
5. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Daniela Juskova 6-1,0-6,6-2
6. Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) def. Staten Spencer 2-6,6-2,7-5
Doubles
1. Martina Banikova/Elna de Villiers (MSU) def. #17 Megan Falcon/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 9-8(2)
2. Natalia Mayuk/Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Hannah Robinson/Whitney Wolf (LSU) 9-8(1)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,2,5,4,6,3)
Match Notes
LSU (13-8, 3-6 SEC); National ranking #16
Mississippi State (10-8, 1-8 SEC); National ranking #67