OXFORD, Miss. – The LSU Lady Tiger tennis team beat No. 38 Ole Miss 4-3 in a thrilling match at Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center on Friday in Oxford, Miss.
LSU improved its record to 4-6, 2-1 in the SEC with the victory while Ole Miss dropped to 6-4, 1-2.
“I am so impressed with this team,” said LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis. “We beat a great team in Ole Miss. Ebie Wilson showed some great character and guts. I am obviously extremely pleased with this result.”
Sophomore Ebie Wilson and freshman Ariel Morton got the Lady Tigers off to a great start in doubles play on Court 3. The pair opened up a 5-0 lead and held on to defeat Vivian Vlaar and Caroline Rohde-Moe by an 8-3 margin. The victory was the third in the duo’s last four matches.
With sophomore Keri Frankenberger and freshman Yvette Vlaar down 7-5 on Court 2, it seemed LSU’s chances rested on the Court 1 match. However, the Lady Tiger tandem battled back to win four consecutive games and then held off a match point to defeat Connor Vogel and Gabby Rangel of Ole Miss 9-7 and secure the doubles point for LSU.
Court 1 featured a tight, back-and-forth match between Lady Tigers Whitney Wolf and Kaitlin Burns and the No. 19-ranked Ole Miss duo of Kristi Boxx and Abby Guthrie. With neither team ever taking more than a one-game lead, the match went into a tiebreaker. Even at seven, the Ole Miss combo rattled off two consecutive points to take the tiebreaker 9-7 and the match by a 9-8 score.
Singles play opened with Frankenberger falling to the Rebel junior Guthrie 6-1, 6-2 on Court 4.
Vlaar responded for the Lady Tigers by taking an early lead and never ceasing momentum in knocking off her sister Vivian in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. Morton quickly followed for LSU on Court 6 by topping Rangel 6-2, 6-2 for her second-consecutive straight set singles victory.
Burns and Vogel engaged in a tough first set on Court 2 before the Ole Miss senior won the last two games to break a 5-5 tie and win the set 7-5. The second set was never close as Vogel took control early and grabbed the set 6-1 and the match 7-5, 6-1.
Wolf and No. 22 Boxx captivated the crowd with an intense three-set match. After dropping the first set 6-4, the LSU junior Wolf rebounded to take the second set by an identical 6-4 score. Down 5-4 (40-40) in the final set, Wolf incorrectly called a ball out of bounds. Since it was her third incorrect call of the match, she forfeited the point which gave the game to Boxx and consequently the set and match as well, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first set, Wilson won four consecutive games to take a 4-2 lead over Rohde-Moe. However, the Rebel freshman responded by evening the set at 4-4 and eventually pushing it to a tiebreaker. Wilson would not give in, though, as she prevailed in the tiebreaker to claim the first set. Rohde-Moe took an early lead and took the second set easily 6-2.
The LSU sophomore staked a 4-2 lead in the final set only to see Rhode-Moe tie it at 4. With the match on the line and the boisterous Rebel crowd reacting to every shot, Wilson showed her toughness in grinding out the final two games to clinch the set 6-4 and the match 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, clinching the huge win for the Lady Tigers.
LSU concludes its weekend SEC road trip when it travels to Starkville to face Mississippi State on Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT. Live stats will be provided for Sunday’s matchup and can be followed at LSUsports.net/livestats.
Follow the LSU women’s tennis team on Twitter @LSUwten and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUwten.
LSU 4, Ole Miss 3
March 11, 2011 at Oxford, Miss.
Palmer/Salloum Tennis Stadium
Singles
1. #22 Kristi Boxx (UM) def. #52 Whitney Wolf (LSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
2. #122 Connor Vogel (UM) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 7-5, 6-1
3. Ebie Wilson (LSU) def. Caroline Rohde-Moe (UM) 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
4. Abby Guthrie (UM) def. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Yvette Vlaar (LSU) def. Vivian Vlaar (UM) 6-3, 6-2
6. Ariel Morton (LSU) def. Gabby Rangel (UM) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. #19 Kristi Boxx/Abby Guthrie (UM) def. Whitney Wolf/Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 9-8 (9-7)
2. Keri Frankenberger/Yvette Vlaar (LSU) def. Connor Vogel/Gabby Rangel (UM) 9-7
3. Ebie Wilson/Ariel Morton (LSU) def. Caroline Rhode-Moe/Vivian Vlaar (UM) 8-3
Order of Finish
Singles: 4,5,6,2,1,3
Doubles: 3,2,1
Team Records
LSU: 4-6 (2-1 in SEC)
Ole Miss: 6-4 (1-2 in SEC)
Match Notes
With Boxx leading in the third set 5-4 (40-40), Wolf incorrectly called a ball out of bounds. Since it was her third incorrect call of the match, she forfeited an extra point and consequently lost the game, set and match on the shot.