COLLEGE STATION, Texas — LSU women’s tennis players Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg will compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments beginning Wednesday at Texas A&M’s George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
No. 13-ranked Falcon is listed as a 9-16 seed and will begin her final run at an NCAA singles championship by facing Michigan’s Chisako Sugiyama at 6 p.m. CDT Wednesday in the first round (NOTE: Falcon’s original first-round opponent, California’s 54th-ranked Claire Ilcinkas, withdrew from the singles draw).
Falcon, a senior from Alameda, Calif., enters the tournament with a 32-7 overall singles record, including a 19-3 dual mark. Against ranked opponents this season Falcon is 15-7. She is also entering the tournament with 97 career wins, which is tied for eighth in school history.
No. 17-ranked Falcon and Hedberg will open the NCAA Doubles Tournament Thursday against SMU’s 32nd-ranked Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarschikova at a time to be determined after singles play begins Wednesday.
“I am very excited for Megan and Mykala,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “This is a great accomplishment to be participating in the NCAA Tournament. Meg and Mykala were here together last year and this will be Megan’s third time, so hopefully they can come out and play some pretty good tennis because they have worked hard all season.”
Falcon’s first round opponent Sugiyama enters the match with a 20-16 overall record. This will mark the first time Falcon has faced Sugiyama in singles. In 2007, Falcon played against Sugiyama in doubles at the Michigan Classic, and Falcon teamed up with Hannah Robinson to defeat Sugiyama and her partner 8-3.
This will be Falcon’s third appearance in the NCAA Singles Tournament. As a junior last season Falcon lost in the first round to USC’s Lindsey Nelson 6-3, 6-4. As a sophomore in 2007 Falcon became the first Lady Tiger to reach the national semifinals where she fell to Nelson, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Falcon and Hedberg enter the tournament with a 27-9 doubles mark, and this will be the first time they face Lesniak and Malyarschikova. When LSU defeated SMU on Feb. 6 neither Lesniak nor Malyarschikova played.
This will mark the duo’s second time to compete in the tournament because last season the two Lady Tigers reached the NCAA first round where they fell to Clemson’s Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge 6-4, 6-3.
The NCAA Singles Tournament is a 64-player bracket and the NCAA Doubles Tournament is a 32-player bracket, and the championship match for both tournaments will be played Monday, May 25.