Nashville, Tenn. – Sophomore Safiya Carrington played the role of hero when she clinched a 4-2 victory for the visiting No. 23 LSU women’s tennis team over No. 9 Vanderbilt on Monday afternoon at the Currey Tennis Center.
With the win, LSU moves to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in SEC play while the Commodores fall to 8-1 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Selling Points
“Today was a phenomenal effort and performance from the Tigers,” co-head coach Michael Sell said. “The confidence each player has in one another shined today. With Taylor not playing singles today, it was ‘next Tiger up’ and we saw Nina (Geissler), Paris (Corley), and Maggie (Cubitt) accept that by playing their best matches of the season before Safiya was able to clutch it for us at the end.”
“Vanderbilt is a tremendous team, but our Tigers were ready for the challenge. We’ll enjoy this win tonight before we shift focus to our next two matches on the weekend against two more tough teams.”
Doubles Results
The pair of Christina Rosca and Anessa Lee were first off the doubles court after defeating seniors Taylor Bridges and Paris Corley by a score of 6-2 at the No. 3 doubles.
The Commodores clinched the doubles point at the No. 1 after Anna Ross and Holly Staff defeated the No. 14-ranked duo of senior Eden Richardson and sophomore Nina Geissler in a 6-3 contest.
Singles Results
LSU struck first in singles play when Corley defeated Ross at the No. 3 singles. Corley pulled ahead and claimed the first set by a 6-3 scoreline before she held off a late charge from Ross in the second to win 6-4 and grab 12th win in the overall season.
Sophomore Maggie Cubitt gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match after claiming victory at the No. 4 over Staff. Cubitt had a strong first set, pulling ahead and winning it 6-2. The second set saw Cubitt control the tempo of the match once again, going on to win in 6-3 fashion for her third consecutive straight set win of the dual season.
At the No. 5, Geissler grabbed her team-high sixth win of the dual season and extended LSU’s lead to 3-1 with a win over Lee. Geissler got off to a fast start and routed Lee in the first set by a score of 6-2. In the second set, Geissler held off a late surge from Lee to get a 6-4 win and keep her perfect dual season record intact.
The Commodores lone singles point came from the No. 2, where No. 20 Rosca defeated Richardson. Rosca won the first set 6-3 before holding off Richardson in a back and forth second set that finished 7-5 to cut the LSU lead down to 3-2.
At the No. 1, No. 83 Carrington faced Emma Kurtz. The two contested an even first set, trading games back and forth before Carrington was able to pull ahead and win by a score of 7-5. The second set was almost identical to the first, this time requiring a tiebreaker to decide it. Carrington kept her nerve in the tiebreaker, taking a lead at 4-3 and going on to win three of the next four points to grab a 7-4 win and clinch match victory for the Purple & Gold.
Up Next
No. 23 LSU will travel to Gainesville, Florida to take on the No. 22 Florida Gators at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, February 26.
Social Center
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#23 LSU 4, #9 Vanderbilt 2
Feb 22, 2021 at Nashville, Tenn. (Currey Tennis Center)
Singles competition
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1. #83 Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Emma Kurtz (VANDY) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) |
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2. #20 Christina Rosca (VANDY) def. Eden Richardson (LSU) 6-3, 7-5 |
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3. Paris Corley (LSU) def. Anna Ross (VANDY) 6-3, 6-4 |
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4. Maggie Cubitt (LSU) def. Holly Staff (VANDY) 6-2, 6-3 |
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5. Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Anessa Lee (VANDY) 6-2, 6-4 |
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6. Marcella Cruz (VANDY) vs. Samantha Buyckx (LSU) 6-2, 2-0, unfinished |
Doubles competition
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1. Holly Staff/Anna Ross (VANDY) def. #14 Eden Richardson/Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-3 |
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2. Emma Kurtz/Marcella Cruz (VANDY) def. Maggie Cubitt/Safiya Carrington (LSU) 4-3 |
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3. Christina Rosca/Anessa Lee (VANDY) def. Paris Corley/Taylor Bridges (LSU) 6-2 |
Match Notes
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LSU 7-0; National ranking #23 |
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Vanderbilt 8-1; National ranking #9 |
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Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,4,5,2,1) |