BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU women’s tennis team (3-0) handed Harvard University (3-1) its first loss of the season on Friday as they took down the Crimson by a score of 5-2 inside the LSU Tennis Complex.
Taylor’s Thoughts
“Chris (Simpson) and I are proud of the effort by everyone on and off the court today,” head coach Taylor Fogleman said. “The ladies have been working extremely hard and we’re thrilled they are seeing some of the fruits of their labors.”
“We’re very grateful to all the fans who came and spent the afternoon at the complex with us and appreciate Harvard making the trip down to play us. We’ll rest up and get ready for a great battle on Sunday against Penn State.”
Doubles Results
Senior Nina Geissler and junior Kylie Collins gave LSU a strong start to the afternoon when the pair took down Charlotte Owensby and Iveta Daujotaite by a score of 6-2 at the No. 2 doubles spot.
The doubles point went to LSU moments later as seniors Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt earned their second doubles win as a duo this season with a 6-2 win over Sany Gawande and Angel You at the No. 3 doubles court.
Singles Results
Geissler brought her strong form on the day into singles play and grabbed the first singles point of the match with a straight set win against Angel You at the No. 4 singles spot. Geissler played a perfect first set, winning 6-0 before she held off a small charge from You to win the second 6-4. The win was the first of the dual season for Geissler as she gave LSU a 2-0 lead in the match.
The No. 32-ranked Anastasiya Komar extended LSU’s lead to 3-0 after taking down Maxi Duncan in straight sets at the No. 2 court. The two players contested a close first set, with Komar holding firm and finishing strong to take it 6-4. The second set saw the Belarus native drop only one game as she won 6-1 to claim her first singles win in the dual season and team-high 15th on the year.
Cubitt clinched match victory for LSU at the No. 5 when she defeated doubles-foe Gawande in straight sets. Cubitt took an early lead in the first set, but Gawande battled back and tied it up. The set sat split at 6-6 after 12 games and went to a tiebreaker, which Cubitt won by a 7-2 margin. The second set was a strong showing for Cubitt, who took the lead and didn’t look back as she worked to a 6-3 win to clinch the match for her team and grab her first dual season singles win in the process.
Harvard scored its first point of the match at the No. 1, where Charlotte Owensby took down No. 7 Collins in three sets. Owensby won the first set by a 6-3 score before Collins struck back with a 6-0 win in the second to force a third set. The third set was a back-and-forth contest, but the Harvard Crimson held Collins off to win 6-4.
It became 4-2 in the match after Daujotaite took down graduate student Mia Rabinowitz at the No. 6 spot. Rabinowitz took an early lead in the first set, but Daujotaite responded by winning consecutive games and tying the set at 6-6. The tiebreaker was just as close as the set, with Rabinowitz narrowly winning by a 7-5 margin to take the lead. Daujotaite fought back in the second set and won 6-0 to split the match. The third set was a ten-point tiebreaker due to the team match being clinched, with Daujotaite winning 10-4 to grab Harvard’s second and final point.
Safiya Carrington won the final point of the match as she came from behind to defeat Sophia Ho at the No. 3 in three sets. Ho claimed the first set, 6-3, before Carrington edged the second set by a 6-4 margin to force a third. The third set played out similarly to the second, with Carrington holding a narrow lead throughout and winning 6-4 to earn her third singles win in three matches.
Up Next
LSU concludes the weekend when they host Penn State at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, January 29.
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LSU 5, Harvard 2
Singles competition
- Charlotte Owensby (HARVARD) def. #7 Kylie Collins (LSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
- #32 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. Maxi Duncan (HARVARD) 6-4, 6-1
- Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Sophia Ho (HARVARD) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
- Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Angel You (HARVARD) 6-0, 6-3
- Maggie Cubitt (LSU) def. Sany Gawande (HARVARD) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
- Iveta Daujotaite (HARVARD) def. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 10-4
Doubles competition
- Sophia Ho/Maxi Duncan (HARVARD) vs. #7 Anastasiya Komar/Nikita Vishwase (LSU) no result
- Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Charlotte Owensby/Iveta Daujotaite (HARVARD) 6-2
- Safiya Carrington/Maggie Cubitt (LSU) def. Sany Gawande/Angel You (HARVARD) 6-2
Match Notes:
Harvard 3-1
LSU 3-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,2,5,1,6,3)
Official: Richie Weaver T-2:50