BATON ROUGE – The LSU Lady Tiger tennis team defeated Iowa 6-1 and Grambling 7-0 in a Wednesday doubleheader at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
With the wins, the Lady Tigers (7-6, 3-1 SEC) moved their winning streak to five matches.
“I am very pleased with how we played today,” said LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis. “We came out and played well from the start of both matches and kept our intensity the entire day.”
LSU’s Ebie Wilson and Ariel Morton led things off for LSU in doubles play against Iowa, defeating the Hawkeye tandem of Ally Majercik and Cassandra Escobar 8-3.
Sophomore Keri Frankenberger and freshman Yvette Vlaar received a battle from Iowa’s Lynne Poggensee-Wei and Alexis Dorr on Court 2. With the match tied at 4-4, the Lady Tiger duo won four of the last five games to come away with an 8-5 victory to wrap up the doubles point for LSU.
Whitney Wolf and Kaitlin Burns finished off the doubles sweep for the Lady Tigers on Court 1. The pair built a 5-2 lead and hung on to defeat the No. 40 Hawkeye doubles team of Sonja Molnar and Jessica Young 8-6.
Frankenberger helped carry LSU’s momentum into singles play, knocking off Dorr 6-1, 6-1 to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead. Vlaar followed suit a few moments later with a 6-0, 6-2 win over the junior Majercik.
Needing one more victory to clinch the overall match, LSU turned to the sophomore Burns. After easily taking the first set against Young, the Wilmington, N.C., native was pushed to a tiebreaker in the second set. She would not give in, however, winning the tiebreaker 7-2 to pick up the 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win to seal the match for the Lady Tigers.
Wilson and Iowa’s Poggensee-Wei engaged in a tough battle on Court 3. The two were tied at 4-4 in both matches, but the LSU sophomore was able to collect the last two games in each set to top the Hawkeye senior 6-4, 6-4. She has now won nine of her last 10 matches with all but one coming in straight sets.
After Wolf fell in a tight match on Court 1 to Molnar 7-5, 7-5, LSU’s Morton closed out the match by putting away Escobar 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
In the nightcap against Grambling, LSU had little trouble collecting the doubles point. Frankenberger and Vlaar took care of Grambling’s Laura Rodriguez and Charmaine Wetherill 8-0.
Lady Tigers Kylie Adamek and Alexus Coats teamed up on Court 2 to defeat the Grambling Tiger duo of Oluwatomisin Kassim and Nandi Brown by an identical 8-0 score.
The senior Adamek opened up singles action with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Brown. Everett then topped Nichols on Court 5 6-0, 6-0 as well to give the overall match to LSU.
Vlaar followed with another shutout, besting Kassim 6-0, 6-0.
Frankenberger extended her singles match win-streak to three with her 6-2, 6-0 win over Rodriguez. Coats closed out the day shortly afterward with a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Weatherill.
LSU stays home for a matchup with No. 23 Tulsa on Friday at 1 p.m.
Admission is free to Friday’s match. In addition, fans are encouraged to arrive early on Friday as free pizza will be served while supplies last.
Live stats will be provided for fans that are unable to attend and can be followed at www.LSUsports.net/livestats.
Follow the LSU women’s tennis team on Twitter @LSUwten and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUwten. Be sure to check these sites on Thursday for a special message from Coach Minnis.
#55 LSU 6, Iowa 1
March 16, 2011 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Singles
1. # 114 Sonja Molnar (IOWA) def. # 55 Whitney Wolf (LSU) 7-5, 7-5
2. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) def. Jessica Young (IOWA) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Ebie Wilson (LSU) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (IOWA) 6-4, 6-4
4. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Alexis Dorr (IOWA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Yvette Vlaar (LSU) def. Ally Majercik (IOWA) 6-0, 6-2
6. Ariel Morton (LSU) def. Cassandra Escobar (IOWA) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
Doubles
1. Whitney Wolf/Kaitlin Burns (LSU) def. #40 Sonja Molnar/Jessica Young (IOWA) 8-6
2. Yvette Vlaar/Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei/Alexis Dorr (IOWA) 8-5
3. Ebie Wilson/Ariel Morton (LSU) def. Ally Majercik/Cassandra Escobar (IOWA) 8-3
Order of Finish
Singles: 4,5,2,3,1,6
Doubles: 3,2,1
Team Records
Iowa: 2-8 (0-0 in Big 10)
LSU: 6-6 (3-1 in SEC)
#55 LSU 7, Grambling 0
March 16, 2011 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Singles
1. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Laura Rodriguez (GSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Yvette Vlaar (LSU) def. Oluwatomisin Kassim (GSU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Alexus Coats (LSU) def. Charmaine Wetherill (GSU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kylie Adamek (LSU) def. Nandi Brown (GSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Hayley Everett (LSU) def. Alisha Nichols (GSU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Ariel Morton (LSU) won by forfeit.
Doubles
1. Yvette Vlaar/Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Laura Rodriguez/Charmaine Wetherill (GSU) 8-0
2. Kylie Adamek/Alexus Coats (LSU) def. Oluwatomisin Kassim/Nandi Brown (GSU) 8-0
3. Hayley Everett/Ariel Morton (LSU) won by forfeit.
Order of Finish
Singles: 6,4,5,2,1,3
Doubles: 3,1,2
Team Records
Grambling: —
LSU: 7-6 (3-1 in SEC)