BATON ROUGE – The LSU women’s tennis team dropped its SEC opener to No. 1 Florida 6-0 on Friday afternoon at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
With the loss, the Lady Tigers fell to 2-6, 0-1 in the SEC while Florida improved to 12-1, 1-0.
The Lady Tigers conclude their homestand when they host No. 27 South Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. CST.
Friday’s match was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. but was moved up to 10 a.m. due to expected inclement weather in Baton Rouge on Friday afternoon. In addition, singles matches were played prior to doubles. Despite the time change, though, the teams were still unable to avoid the rain as the match was delayed three times for a total of more than three hours.
In between the rain delays, the Gators took control early and never looked back. Freshman Alexandra Cercone took the first set 6-1 from LSU sophomore Keri Frankenberger. The second set featured more of the same as Cercone cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Fellow LSU sophomore Kaitlin Burns dropped her first set to Florida’s Lauren Embree 6-2. Burns had the second set tied at three before Embree ran off three straight points to close out the set and match, winning 6-2, 6-3.
“Obviously I am never satisfied with a loss,” said LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis. “However, we have improved and gotten much better since the beginning of the year. Now we just need to translate it into wins.”
On Court 1, No. 52 Whitney Wolf took an early 1-0 lead in the first set from No. 7 Allie Will. However, the Gators’ ace came back to win 6-2. The second set was similar to the first as Wolf took a 1-0 lead before Will responded and came away with the set 6-4 and the match 6-2, 6-4.
After falling 6-0 in the first set, Lady Tiger freshman Ariel Morton went up 2-0 on Florida’s Caroline Hitimana. However, the Gator rebounded to come away with the set 6-3 and the match 6-0, 6-3.
Following a victory against Xavier’s Melissa DeLoach in her first action of the season on Sunday, freshman Alexus Coats was awarded another opportunity on Friday. The Lithonia, Ga., native was no match, however, for the nation’s 34th-ranked Olivia Janowicz as the Gator defeated Coats 6-3, 6-3.
LSU’s best chance of the day came on Court 3 where red-hot Ebie Wilson looked to extend her five-match winning streak. Wilson and Gator freshman Sofie Oyen engaged in a back-and-forth first set before Oyen outlasted the LSU sophomore 7-5. The second set seemed to be headed on a similar path as the first, but Oyen did not let Wilson stick around and went on to win the set 6-3 and the match 7-5, 6-3.
With the match already decided, the two teams attempted to play two doubles matches. However, the matches were called when rain came while the matches were ongoing.
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No. 1 Florida 6, LSU 0
March 4, 2011 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Singles
1. #7 Allie Will (UF) def. #52 Whitney Wolf (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #26 Lauren Embree (UF) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Sofie Oyen (UF) def. Ebie Wilson (LSU) 7-5, 6-3
4. #35 Alexandra Cercone (UF) def. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. #34 Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. Alexus Coats (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. #125 Caroline Hitimana (UF) def. Ariel Morton (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
Order of Finish
Singles: 4,2,1,5,6,3
Team Records
Florida: 12-1 (1-0 in SEC)
LSU: 2-6 (0-1 in SEC)
Match Notes
No doubles matches were played.
Match moved from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. due to threat of afternoon thunderstorms.