Orlando, Fla. – The LSU women’s tennis team (4-1) suffered its first defeat of the dual season as they were defeated by the No. 21-ranked UCF Knights (3-1) by a score of 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.
Taylor’s Thoughts
“Great effort from the ladies today,” head coach Taylor Fogleman said. “UCF deserves a lot of credit, especially after dropping the doubles point and battling back the way they did. Tremendous credit to Bryan (Koniecko) and Lloyd (Bruce-Burgess) for what they’re building over there.”
“We played close matches today, even in those where we came up short in. It’s a testament to the resolve this group has. While the loss is certainly disappointing, there’s a lot of good stuff that we can build upon and learn from. We’ll work to get better.”
Doubles Results
The Knights struck first in doubles play when Nandini Sharma and Sophia Biolay took down the senior duo of Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt by a margin of 6-4 at the No. 3 doubles court.
The Tigers got one back at the No. 2 spot when senior Nina Geissler and junior Kylie Collins took down Jantje Tilbuerger and Stefani Webb by a score of 6-2.
LSU clinched its fifth doubles point of the season at the top court, where the No. 7-ranked duo of Anastasiya Komar and Nikita Vishwase edged the duo of Marie Mattell and Noel Saidenova by a score of 6-2.
Singles Results
No. 32-ranked Komar gave LSU a 2-0 lead on the day after she earned a straight set win over Webb at the No. 2 spot. Komar dominated the first set, winning 6-2 before only dropping one game in the second to win 6-1 to secure her court. The win is Komar’s fourth of the spring season and takes her season total up to 18 on the year.
UCF scored its first point of the afternoon at the No. 4 where Saidenova defeated Safiya Carrington. Saidenova stuck first, taking the first set 6-1 before holding off a surge from Carrington in the second as she won 7-5.
The match was all-squared at 2-2 after Tilbuerger defeated Geissler at the No. 3 court. The UCF Knight won the first set by a score of 6-2 and held on to defeat Geissler in the second, 6-4, to tie the match.
The Knights took the lead after Biolay defeated Vishwase at the No. 5 spot. Biolay took the lead after winning the first set, 6-2. The second set was a closer contest, with both players trading games and sitting tied at 5-5 after ten games. Biolay finished strong, however, and won the next two games to win 7-5 and give UCF a 3-2 lead in the match.
The match was clinched at the No. 6 court, where No. 110-ranked Sharma defeated graduate student Mia Rabinowitz in three sets. Sharma won the first set, 6-3, before Rabinowitz equalized with a 6-3 win of her own in the second set to force a decisive third. In the third set, Sharma took an early lead and didn’t look back as she went to win 6-3 and give UCF the clinching fourth point of the match.
The final match of the day was a ranked battle as No. 7 Collins faced No. 47 Mattel at the No. 1 spot. The first set saw Collins take an early lead, but Mattel battled back and eventually forced a tiebreaker that went to the LSU Tiger by a score of 7-4. The second set was another close one, but Collins held her nerve and finished Mattel off by a score of 6-4 to earn LSU’s third point of the match. The win is Collins’ second singles win of the spring as well as her fourth ranked win of the overall season.
Up Next
The Tigers will enjoy a weekend off before returning to action on the road against the TCU Horned Frogs at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, February 19.
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#21 UCF 4, LSU 3
Singles competition
- #7 Kylie Collins (LSU) def. #47 Marie Mattel (UCF) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
- #32 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. Stefani Webb (UCF) 6-2, 6-1
- Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def. Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
- Noel Saidenova (UCF) def. Safiya Carrington (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
- Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Nikita Vishwase (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
- #110 Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
- #7 Anastasiya Komar/Nikita Vishwase (LSU) def. Marie Mattel/Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-4
- Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Jantje Tilbuerger/Stefani Webb (UCF) 6-2
- Nandini Sharma/Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Safiya Carrington/Maggie Cubitt (LSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
LSU 4-1
UCF 3-1; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,4,3,5,6,1)
Official: Roberta Quirk T-2:45 A-375