LSU Gold

Women's Tennis Advances to Face SEC No. 1 Seed

by Molly Clark
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Women's Tennis Advances to Face SEC No. 1 Seed

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 8 seeded LSU women’s tennis team took down No. 9 seed Alabama, 4-2, Thursday to advance to the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Georgia’s McWhorter Courts in Athens, Ga.

“I thought we were outplayed in doubles, but I was really impressed with our singles performance,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “We really dominated the courts we won. We played very solidly. The girls did a very good job on every court in singles.”

In doubles, 82nd-ranked Whitney Wolf and Keri Frankenberger fell first to Alabama’s (10-12, 3-8 SEC) 17th-ranked Courtney McLane and Alexa Guarachi on court one 8-1. The Crimson Tide clinched the doubles point on court two as Hannah Robinson and Kaitlin Burns lost to Antonia Foeshe and Alice Tunaru 8-3. Nicole Kantor and Ebie Wilson trailed Paulina Bigos and Meritt Emery 4-3 on court three as the match was left unfinished.

LSU (10-14, 4-7) answered right back in singles as Hannah Robinson took down Alice Tunaru for the second time this season 6-1, 6-3 on court six. The Monroe, La., native service aced Tunaru to end the match. No. 57 Guarachi defeated Burns on court two 6-0, 6-3.

Freshman Wilson evened the match score to, 2-2, as she cruised past Bigos 6-1, 6-2 on court five. Wolf gave the Lady Tigers a 3-2 advantage as she knocked off McLane 6-2, 7-5 on court one.

With just one point left to earn, LSU’s fate in the SEC Tournament came down to courts three and four. Kantor dropped her first set to Emery 6-1, won her second set 7-5 and was up 2-1 on court three when Frankenberger clinched the overall match against Foeshe 7-5, 6-2 on court four. The freshman has won 10 of her last 12 matches and has clinched a team-high of four matches. Kantor’s match was left unfinished.

The Lady Tigers will face No. 1 seed Florida Friday at 9 a.m. CT on the McWhorter Courts.
#74 LSU 4, #64 Alabama 2
April 22, 2010 at Athens, Ga.
(McWhorter Courts)

Singles
1. Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 6-2, 7-5
2. #57 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
3. Nicole Kantor (LSU) vs. Meritt Emery (UA) 1-6, 7-5, 2-1, unfinished
4. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Antonia Foeshe (UA) 7-5, 6-2
5. Ebie Wilson (LSU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-1, 6-2
6. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Alice Tunaru (UA) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles
1. #17 Alexa Guarachi/Courtney McLane (UA) def. #82 Keri Frankenberger/Whitney Wolf (LSU) 8-1
2. Antonia Foeshe/Alice Tunaru (UA) def. Kaitlin Burns/Hannah Robinson (LSU) 8-3
3. Nicole Kantor/Ebie Wilson (LSU) vs. Paulina Bigos/Meritt Emery (UA) 3-4, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,2,5,1,4)

Match Notes:
Alabama 10-12, 3-8 SEC; National ranking #64
LSU 10-14, 4-7 SEC; National ranking #74