CHAPEL HILL N.C. — Junior Ella Taylor clinched the match on court five to give LSU a 4-3 win over No. 59 Boston College Saturday morning at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
“They all did a really good job overall,” LSU head coach Julia Sell said. “Ella and Skylar (Kuykendall) did a great job of fighting the nerves. Everyone played a little nervous and tight at times but just continued to fight. For Ella, it was great to see her fight, focus and block out all the other stuff.”
All eyes were on Taylor after LSU pushed the match to 3-3. Taylor took the first set 7-6 and led 5-2 in the second set. Boston College’s Emily Safron didn’t go down without a fight and tied the set at 5-5. Taylor bunkered down and broke Safron to win 7-6, 7-5.
The Lady Tigers moved to 3-0 on the year. With the win, LSU faces No. 3 North Carolina Sunday at 12 p.m. CT in the final match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Tar Heels have three singles player ranked in the top-35 and are coming off of a second-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships.
No. 74 Abby Owens earned the first point of the morning for the Lady Tigers to tie the match. Owens defeated Katya Vasilyev, 6-1, 6-2.
No. 115 Noel Scott fell to No. 103 Lexi Borr on court two 6-0, 6-3. On court one, No. 28 Joana Vale Costa also dropped her match to No. 61 Jessica Wacnik 6-2, 6-4.
With wins on courts one and two, Boston College was out to a 3-1 lead. The Lady Tigers came back to take wins on courts six, three and five. Skylar Holloway defeated Heini Salonen 6-4, 6-4.
No. 65 Skylar Kuykendall was pushed to the limit on court three by Assiya Dair. Kuykendall took the first set 6-3 and the second set 7-6.
LSU dropped the doubles point after a valiant effort on court one. Vale Costa and Scott pushed the match to a tiebreaker but couldn’t hold on, 7-6. Holloway and Atanasson earned a doubles win with a 6-4 decision over Dair and Jennifer Ren of BC. The team of Owens and Kuykendall also dropped their court, 6-4.
“We really have to keep getting better every match we play,” Sell added. “We have to go in tomorrow’s match and focus on ourselves. We have to do all of the little things and just get better.”
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#37 LSU 4, #59 Boston College 3
Jan 24, 2015 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #61 Jessica Wacnik (BC) def. #28 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #103 Lexi Borr (BC) def. #115 Noel Scott (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
3. #65 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. Assiya Dair (BC) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
4. #74 Abby Owens (LSU) def. Katya Vasilyev (BC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Ella Taylor (LSU) def. Emily Safron (BC) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
6. Skylar Holloway (LSU) def. Heini Salonen (BC) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Jessica Wacnik/Lexi Borr (BC) def. Joana Vale Costa/Noel Scott (LSU) 7-6 (7-6)
2. Assiya Dair/Jennifer Ren (BC) def. Abbyv Owens/Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) 6-4
3. Skylar Holloway/Amanda Atanasson (LSU) def. Katya Vasilyev/Emily Safron (BC) 6-4
Match Notes:
Boston College 0-1; National ranking #59 LSU 2-0; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,2,1,6,3,5)
ITA Kick-Off Weekend