Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Senior Paris Corley’s perfect 3-0 singles record in the SEC Challenge earned her the title of Singles Champion as the LSU women’s tennis team concluded its fall season on Sunday, October 25 at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Selling Points
“We’re so grateful to have been able to compete over the last month,” co-head coach Julia Sell said. “We have been able to play so many high-quality matches in a short time frame and that showed our team how all their hard work during this year has paid off.”
“This team has progressed tremendously with each event and is starting to form their own identity as a unit. It’s a team of high character and unrelenting tiger spirit.”
Day One
Friday’s draw had LSU facing off against Alabama in both doubles and singles action. Corley and junior Anna Loughlan earned the first doubles win of the day, beating Vanesa Nikolovova and Anna Parkhomenko in a 6-3 contest.
Sydney Riley and Isabella Harvison grabbed a doubles win for Alabama, defeating senior Eden Richardson and sophomore Nina Geissler by a score of 6-2.
Senior Taylor Bridges and freshman Samantha Buyckx were victorious in the last doubles match, comfortably defeating Sydney Orefice and Sasha Gorchanyuk by a 6-1 score line.
Richardson was the first off the court in single action, defeating Nikolovova 6-2 in the first set and 6-1 in the second to get a straight set win.
Geissler faced Gorchanyuk in the next match. Geissler started out strongly, winning the first set 6-2. Gorchanyuk equalized in the second set, winning 6-4 and forcing a decisive third set. In the third set, the players traded games before Geissler was able to narrowly pull ahead and win by a score of 7-5 to claim victory.
Corley earned her first singles win of the weekend, defeating Harvison in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Next, sophomore Safiya Carrington took on Riley. Carrington was dominant in the first set, winning by a margin of 6-2. The second set saw Carrington only drop one game, winning 6-1 to claim her first win of the weekend.
Bridges picked up her first singles win when she only dropped two games in her match against Parkhomenko, winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
The final match of the day saw Buyckx face Sydney Orefice. The first set was a close contest, with Buyckx narrowly winning by a score of 6-4. Buyckx jumped to an early lead in the second set and didn’t look back, winning 6-1 to take the match.
Day Two
The second day of action saw the Tigers take on a mix of players from Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Richardson and Carrington teamed together to take on Ole Miss’ Sabrina Machalova and Alexa Bortles in the first doubles match of the day. The Tigers were ruthless, dominating the match and winning by a score of 6-1.
Corley and Loughlan teamed up for the second time on the weekend to face Mississippi State’s Alexandra Mikhailuk and Lilian Poling. The LSU pair controlled the match and held off the Crimson Tide team to win the match 6-3.
Bridges and Buyckx earned their second doubles win of the weekend in a narrow match against Tiphanie Fiquet and Lillian Gabrielsen from Ole Miss. The teams traded games back and forth all the way to 6-6, requiring a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was equally as close, with the Tiger duo able to get the advantage and win 8-6 to take the match.
Mississippi State’s Poling and Richardson’s singles match was the first match off the court, with Poling earning a win over Richardson, 6-3, 6-1.
Next, Buyckx faced Gabrielsen for the second time on the day, this time in singles action. The two contested an even first set, requiring a lengthy tiebreaker that saw Gabrielsen narrowly win 12-0 to get advantage. The second set saw Gabrielsen hold Buyckx off and win 6-3 to earn the victory.
Geissler earned LSU’s first singles win of the afternoon in her match against Ole Miss’ Bortles. Geissler’s strong start saw her win the first set 6-2 before she carried momentum over to the second, dominating 6-1 and getting the straight set win.
Corley earned her second singles week of the weekend, defeating Fiquet from Ole Miss. Corley and Fiquet battled an even first set, with Corley able to win 6-4 and take the lead. The second set was similar, with Corley outlasting Fiquet in an extended set, 7-5, to win.
Ole Miss’ Zadori faced Loughlan in the next match. The tight first set needed a tiebreaker to decide the winner, with Zadori able to take it, 7-4. The second set saw Zadori hold off a late charge from Loughlan as the Ole Miss Rebel won 6-4 to earn the victory.
Machalova from Ole Miss was victorious in her match, defeating Carrington in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The final match of the day was Bridges versus Mississippi State’s Mikhailuk. Bridges dominated the first set, winning by a 6-1 margin. Mihhailuk responded with a strong second set performance, winning 6-2 and forcing the decisive third set. The third set was a back-and-forth affair, with Bridges getting the advantage towards the end and taking victory, 7-5, to earn her second singles win of the weekend.
Day Three
The final day of the tournament had LSU facing Auburn in doubles and singles competition. Auburn’s Carolyn Ansari and Taylor Russo got the first win of the day, a 6-4 win over Corley and Loughlan.
Richardson and Carrington’s match versus Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach was a tightly-contested one, requiring a tiebreaker that the Auburn duo was able to win, 7-4.
Geissler and Buyckx got LSU’s lone doubles win of the day, defeating Yu Chen and Shir Azran in convincing fashion, 6-2.
Corley clinched the title of Singles Champion in her match versus Ansari. A close first set saw Corley win 6-4 to take the lead. Corley controlled the tempo of the second set and kept her momentum on her way to a 6-3 win to finish the weekend a perfect 3-0.
Carrington’s second singles win of the weekend came against Axon. Carrington dropped one game in the first set, winning 6-1. The second set was almost perfect, with Carrington blanking Axon 6-0 to get the victory.
Azran earned Auburn’s first singles win of the afternoon, defeating Buyckx. Azran outlasted Buyckx in the first set, winning a 7-4 tiebreaker before winning the second set by a score of 6-4.
Next, Bridges faced Flach. The narrow first set ended with Bridges winning 6-4 to take the lead. Bridges carried momentum over in the second set, winning comfortably by a 6-2 margin.
Richardson took on Russo in the next match of the day. Russo took the first set 6-3 before Richardson equalized in the second, winning 6-4 to force a third set. The narrow first set was back and forth until Russo was able to pull ahead and win the set, 6-4, to take the match.
The final match of the weekend saw doubles opponents take each other on in singles, as Geissler faced Chen. Chen won the first set 6-3 and did not slip in the second, winning 6-2 to claim the win.
Up Next
The dual season is scheduled to begin in January 2021. LSU’s schedule for the season will be posted to lsusports.net once finalized.
Social Center
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SEC Challenge
Day One
Paris Corley/Anna Loughlan (LSU) def. Vanesa Nikolovova/Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) 6-3
Sydney Riley/Isabella Harvison (Alabama) def. Eden Richardson/Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-2 Taylor Bridges/Samantha Buyckx (LSU) def. Sydney Orefice/Sasha Gorchanyuk (Alabama) 6-1
Eden Richardson (LSU) def. Vanesa Nikolovova (Alabama) 6-2, 6-1
Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Sasha Gorchanyuk (Alabama) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Paris Corley (LSU) def. Isabella Harvison (Alabama) 6-3, 6-4
Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Sydney Riley (Alabama) 6-2, 6-1
Samantha Buyckx (LSU) def. Sydney Orefice (Alabama) 6-4, 6-1
Taylor Bridges (LSU) def. Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) 6-1, 6-1
Day Two
Eden Richardson/Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Sabina Machalova/Alexa Bortles (Ole Miss) 6-1 Georgie Axon/Adeline Flach (Auburn) def. Anne Marie Hiser/Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) 6-3
Paris Corley/Anna Loughlan (LSU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Lilian Poling (Miss St.) 6-3
Samantha Buyckx/Taylor Bridges (LSU) def. Tiphanie Fiquet/Lillian Gabrielsen (Ole Miss) 7-6(6)
Lilian Poling (Miss St.) def. Eden Richardson (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
Lillian Gabrielsen (Ole Miss) def. Samantha Buyckx (LSU) 7-6(10), 6-3
Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Alexa Bortles (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-1
Paris Corley (LSU) def. Tiphanie Fiquet (Ole Miss) 6-4, 7-5
Reka Zadori (Ole Miss) def. Anna Loughlan (LSU) 7-6(4), 6-4
Sabina Machalova (Ole Miss) def. Safiya Carrington (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
Taylor Bridges (LSU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (Miss St.) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
Day Three
Carolyn Ansari/Taylor Russo (Auburn) def. Paris Corley/Anna Loughlan (LSU) 6-4
Georgie Axon/Adeline Flach (Auburn) def. Eden Richardson/Safiya Carrington (LSU) 7-6(4)
Nina Geissler/Samantha Buyckx (LSU) def. Yu Chen/Shir Azran (Auburn) 6-2
Paris Corley (LSU) def. Carolyn Ansari (Auburn) 6-4, 6-3
Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Georgie Axon (Auburn) 6-1, 6-0
Shir Azran (Auburn) def. Samantha Buyckx (LSU) 7-6(4), 6-4
Taylor Bridges (LSU) def. Adeline Flach (Auburn) 6-4, 6-2
Taylor Russo (Auburn) def. Eden Richardson (LSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Yu Chen (Auburn) def. Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-3, 6-2