BATON ROUGE, La. — No. 40 Joana Vale Costa defeated No. 26 Erin Routliffe 6-3, 6-4 on court one for her fifth ranked and third SEC win of the season, but it wasn’t enough as LSU fell to No. 9 Alabama 5-2 Friday at ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium.
“That was about as close of a college tennis match that you can play from top to bottom,” head coach Julia Sell said. “It was an abosolute war from start to finish. It came down to those last two matches. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and competitive spirit that the girls showed today.”
In addition to Vale Costa, junior Skylar Kuykendall notched a come from behind win over No. 54 Danielle Spielmann on court two for LSU’s second point.
Skylar Holloway dropped her match to Luicelena Perez on court six 7-6, 6-3. Abby Owens fell to No. 48 Maya Jansen on court three 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.
With Alabama leading 3-2 and two courts remaining Emily Zabor clinched the match on court five for the Crimson Tide. Zabor defeated Ella Taylor 6-2, 3-6, 1-6.
Noel Scott made a strong push on court four but Natalia Maynetto defeated the senior 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to seal the match.
The doubles courts started off strong by pushing Alabama on all three courts. The ninth-ranked doubles team in the country, Routliffe/Jansen, defeated Vale Costa and Scott on court one 8-4. Zabor and Maynetto then clinched the doubles point for Alabama with a 8-4 win over Owens and Kuykendall on court two.
LSU returns to action Sunday against Auburn at 11 a.m. at ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium. The Lady Tigers will host a free kids clinic after the match.
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#9 Alabama 5, #49 LSU 2
Mar 20, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La.
(W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #40 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) def. #26 Erin Routliffe (UA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #115 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. #54 Danielle Spielmann (UA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. #48 Maya Jansen (UA) def. Abby Owens (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Natalia Maynetto (UA) def. Noel Scott (LSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Emily Zabor (UA) def. Ella Taylor (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Luicelena Perez (UA) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #9 Erin Routliffe/Maya Jansen (UA) def. Joana Vale Costa/Noel Scott (LSU) 8-4
2. #46 Emily Zabor/Natalia Maynetto (UA) def. Skylar Kuykendall/Abigail Owens (LSU) 8-4
3. Skylar Holloway/Amanda Atanasson (LSU) vs. Danielle Spielmann/Luicelena Perez (UA) 6-6, unfinished
Match Notes:
Alabama 13-3, 5-2 SEC; National ranking #9
LSU 11-7, 2-4 SEC; National ranking #49
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,3,2,5)