AUBURN, Ala. — Freshman Eden Richardson registered her team-leading 26th singles victory of the season as the No. 39 LSU women’s tennis team fell to No. 20 Auburn by a score of 4-2 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center Sunday.
LSU ended the regular season 14-9 (5-8 SEC) with the loss while Auburn improved to 20-9 (8-5 SEC).
For the second consecutive match, LSU took the doubles point against their opponent and gained an early 1-0 lead. The No. 41 pairing of Jessica Golovin and Richardson blew past Alizee Michaud and Taylor Russo on court one, 6-2, for their team-leading 12th doubles win of the dual season. In their first time playing together this season, Kennan Johnson and Luba Vasilyuk teamed up on court two to defeat Andie Dikosavljevic and Alannah Griffin in a tense 7-5 battle, clinching the early lead for LSU heading into singles competition.
Auburn leveled the score at one point apiece before singles play began due to a walkover on court six. Two more singles points went Auburn’s way on courts four and five as Taylor Russo and Georgie Axon defeated Vasilyuk and Ashton Rabalais, respectively, giving Auburn the 3-1 lead.
In a battle between two of the top freshmen in the SEC, LSU’s Richardson (26-4) defeated Auburn’s Jaeda Daniel (24-12) on court one, 6-4, 6-2, drawing LSU to within 3-2 of Auburn. The win over Daniel moved Richardson’s win streak to an incredible 14 straight matches and marked her first career victory on court one. The win over Daniel, ranked No. 47 in the country, was also the second-highest-ranked win of Richardson’s career behind her 6-4, 6-3 victory over North Carolina’s No. 43 Alexa Graham back in September.
Down by one point, the match would come down to LSU’s juniors on courts two and three. Golovin and Johnson each dropped their first sets before fighting back to win their second sets, carrying that momentum over to generate early leads in their third sets. Down 5-4 in the third, Johnson tied things up at 5-5 before Auburn’s Madeline Meredith ultimately clinched the match, taking the third set 7-5. Golovin’s match went unfinished at 4-3 in the third set.
With the regular season now concluded, the Tigers will await their seeding for the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday, April 18 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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.
#20 Auburn 4, #39 LSU 2
Singles
1. #116 Eden Richardson (LSU) def. #47 Jaeda Daniel (AU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #71 Jessica Golovin (LSU) vs. Andie Dikosavljevic (AU) 2-6, 7-5, 3-4, unfinished
3. Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Kennan Johnson (LSU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
4. Taylor Russo (AU) def. Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Caroline Turner (AU) W/O
Doubles
1. #41 Eden Richardson/Jessica Golovin (LSU) def. Alizee Michaud/Taylor Russo (AU) 6-2
2. Luba Vasilyuk/Kennan Johnson (LSU) def. Andie Dikosavljevic/Alannah Griffin (AU) 7-5
3. Jaeda Daniel/Madeline Meredith (AU) W/O
Match Notes:
LSU 14-9, 5-8 SEC; National ranking #39
Auburn 20-9, 8-5 SEC; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,4,1,3)