Lexington, Ky. – In the final regular season match of the 2023 dual season, the LSU women’s tennis team (12-9, 5-8 SEC) defeated the Kentucky Wildcats (12-13, 4-9 SEC) by a score of 4-2 on Sunday at the Boone Tennis Complex.
Taylor’s Thoughts
“Really happy for the ladies today,” head coach Taylor Fogleman said. “It was a great win in tough conditions against a gritty team in Kentucky. We played well in the doubles and then had a lot of fortitude and guts down the stretch in singles. We’re looking forward to keeping momentum going into the SEC Tournament this week in Arkansas.
Doubles Results
Sisters Noor and Safiya Carrington gave LSU the lead in doubles after only dropping one game in their match against Lidia Gonzalez and Florencia Urrutia at the No. 2 spot in a 6-1 win. The win is the pair’s fifth together this season at the No. 2 court.
The No. 10-ranked pair of Kylie Collins and Anastasiya Komar clinched the doubles point for the Tigers at the top court, where they dominated No. 29 Carlota Molina and Elizabeth Stevens in a 6-1 contest. Collins and Komar improve to 10-0 with the win and it was the pair’s fourth against a ranked opponent.
Singles Results
Singles play began outdoors but was forced to move inside after 20 minutes due to the weather. Kentucky’s indoor facility only had four courts, so the No. 5&6 courts were paused until a court opened.
LSU took a 2-0 lead in the match after Safiya Carrington earned a straight set win over Molina at the No. 3 court. Carrington edged Molina in the first set, 6-4, and repeated the scoreline in the second to secure the straight set win. The win takes Carrington’s season total to 18, with a career-high eight coming in SEC play.
The lead was extended to 3-0 after No. 17 Komar defeated No. 41 Urrutia in straight sets at the top court. The two split their first 12 games in the first set, 6-6, and required a tiebreaker to decide it. In the tiebreaker, Komar blanked her opponent to win 7-0 and take the lead in the match. In the second set, Komar held off a comeback effort from Urrutia to win by a score of 6-4 and clinch the straight set win. The win takes Komar’s final tally in the dual season to 18-2 in singles, with 11 wins coming in SEC play.
Kentucky scored its first point of the match at the No. 5 spot, where Zoe Hammond defeated Nikita Vishwase. Hammond held on to win 6-4 in the first set and then won the second set by a score of 6-2.
It became 3-2 in the match after Stevens defeated No. 29 Collins in three sets at the No. 2 court. The first set was decided by a tiebreaker, with Collins narrowly winning it by a margin of 8-6. The second set saw Stevens reply with a 6-2 win to tie it up and force a third set. The third set played out like the first, with the two splitting 12 games at 6-6 and requiring a tiebreaker to decide it, which Stevens won 7-1 to claim the court.
Nina Geissler clinched the road win for the Tigers with a three-set win over Gonzalez at the No. 4 spot. Geissler took the first set, 6-3, before Gonzalez replied with a 6-4 win in the second to force a third set. In the third set, Geissler took an early lead and didn’t look back as she won 6-3 to secure LSU’s 12th win of the season. Individually, Geissler’s win was her ninth in dual matches this season and her fifth in conference play.
Up Next
The 2023 SEC Tournament will begin on Wednesday, April 19th in Fayetteville, Arkansas. LSU will begin its journey in the tournament as the No. 10 seed in the second round and will face No. 7 Arkansas at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 20th.
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#52 LSU 4, #57 Kentucky 2
Singles competition
- #17 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. #41 Florencia Urrutia (UK) 7-6 (7-0), 6-4
- Elizabeth Stevens (UK) def. #29 Kylie Collins (LSU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
- Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Carlota Molina (UK) 6-4, 6-4
- Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Lidia Gonzalez (UK) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- Zoe Hammond (UK) def. Nikita Vishwase (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
- Maialen Morante (UK) vs. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
- #10 Kylie Collins/Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. #29 Carlota Molina/Elizabeth Stevens (UK) 6-1
- Noor Carrington/Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Lidia Gonzalez/Florencia Urrutia (UK) 6-1
- Makayla Mills/Maialen Morante (UK) vs. Nina Geissler/Nikita Vishwase (LSU) 3-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
LSU 12-9, 5-8 SEC; National ranking #52
Kentucky 12-13, 4-9 SEC; National ranking #57
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,1,5,2,4)
T-3:39