LSU Gold

Vasilyuk Clinches 4-2 Win over No. 25 MSU

by Chase Wales
LSU vs. Mississippi State Box Score +0
Vasilyuk Clinches 4-2 Win over No. 25 MSU

BATON ROUGE — Freshman Luba Vasilyuk clinched the final home match of the regular season for the No. 47 LSU women’s tennis team with her three-set performance on court five, sealing a 4-2 victory over the No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs at the LSU Tennis Complex Sunday.

The Tigers improved to 13-6 (4-5 SEC) on the season with the win while Mississippi State fell to 14-7 (5-5 SEC). LSU moved to an incredible 12-2 at home this season with four wins against ranked teams at the LSU Tennis Complex.

Junior Jessica Golovin and doubles partner Eden Richardson collected another impressive victory on court one, defeating the Bulldogs’ top pairing of Madison Harrison and Khrystyna Vozniak, 6-3. With the win, Golovin and Richardson improved to 10-4 this dual season in doubles play and 3-2 in SEC since moving to court one.

Mississippi State ultimately took the doubles point after a pair of 6-2 wins on courts two and three to gain an early 1-0 lead over the Tigers heading into singles competition.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a 6-0, 6-1 win on court six before Richardson pulled the Tigers back to within one with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Janina Braun on court two. Richardson’s win streak climbed to 12 straight matches with the win and the freshman improved to 24-4 on the season.

After dropping the first sets on courts one, four and five, the Tigers battled back and each took their second sets on those courts to force a third. Ryann Foster was the first of the remaining three to finish, picking up career win No. 70 in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 decision over Madison Harrison on court one, giving LSU the 3-2 lead.

Vasilyuk clinched the fourth and final point for LSU, taking the final two sets 6-4, 6-2 after dropping the first-set tiebreaker against Sara Lizariturry.

Kennan Johnson was leading her match against Anastasia Rentouli in the third set, 5-2, when the match was clinched, but the junior had all the momentum after dominating the second-set tiebreaker as well as the third set.

The Tigers will conclude the regular season with four consecutive road matches, beginning Thursday, April 5, against the Kentucky Wildcats at 5 p.m. CT at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington.

For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program follow the Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten and @LSUJuliaSell, on Instagram @LSUWTen and on www.Facebook.com/lsuwten.

#47 LSU 4, #25 Mississippi State 2

Singles
1. Ryann Foster (LSU) def. Madison Harrison (MSST) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
2. #120 Eden Richardson (LSU) def. Janina Braun (MSST) 6-1, 6-1
3. #80 Jessica Golovin (LSU) def. Magda Adaloglou (MSST) 6-4, 6-2
4. Kennan Johnson (LSU) vs. Anastasia Rentouli (MSST) 3-6, 7-6 (2), 5-2, unfinished
5. Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) def. Sara Lizariturry (MSST) 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
6. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSST) def. Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. #27 Eden Richardson/Jessica Golovin (LSU) def. Madison Harrison/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSST) 6-3
2. Janina Braun/Magda Adaloglou (MSST) def. Ryann Foster/Kennan Johnson (LSU) 6-2
3. Anastasia Rentouli/Sara Lizariturry (MSST) def. Luba Vasilyuk/Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-2

Match Notes:

LSU 13-6, 4-5 SEC; National ranking #47
Mississippi State 14-7, 5-5 SEC; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,3,1,5)
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