Athens, Ga. –The No. 8-seeded LSU women’s tennis team (15-9) punched their ticket to the quarterfinal of the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon after taking down No. 9-seed Arkansas (12-12) by a score of 4-1 at the Magill Tennis Complex.
The Tigers advance to the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament and will take on the No. 1-seeded Georgia Bulldogs at 2 p.m. CT on Friday.
Taylor’s Thoughts
“Good to get the win and advance to the next round,” head coach Taylor Fogleman said. “The first round of any postseason tournament is always a tough one, so it was good to push through and get the win. We still have a few things to clean up and we’ll need to be at our best tomorrow against a very solid Georgia team.”
Doubles Results
The Razorbacks struck first in doubles as Carolina Gomez Alonso and Kelly Keller took down Aran Teixidó Garcia and Florentine Dekkers in a tight 6-4 match at the No. 3 spot.
The Tigers tied it up in doubles when Maya Tahan and Gaby Rivera took down Lenka Stara and Grace O’Donnell by a score of 6-3 at the No. 2 spot. The win was the duo’s seventh together this season.
The doubles point went to the LSU Tigers when the No. 45-ranked Anita Sahdiieva and Kenna Erickson took down No. 57 Morgan Cross and Anet Koskel at the top court. The two teams battled it out in the first few games before Sahdiieva and Erickson pulled away enroute to a 6-3 win, the duo’s seventh win of the year.
Singles Results
Tahan was the first player off the singles court and gave LSU a 2-0 lead in the match after defeating Indianna Spink at the No. 4 spot. Tahan took the first set by a strong 6-2 margin before only dropping one game in the second set on her way to a 6-1 win, her 10th win of the year.
The lead was stretched to 3-0 in the match when Rivera defeated Cross at the No. 5 court. It was a dominant performance from the LSU player from Guatemala as she only dropped two games over two sets with a 6-1, 6-1 straight set win. Rivera’s singles win was her sixth of the season and she is now on a four-match winning streak.
Arkansas’ lone point of the match came from the No. 1 singles court, where No. 29 Alonso took down No. 112 Teixidó Garcia in straight sets. Alonso took the first set by a score of 6-2 and repeated the scoreline in the second to claim her court and make it 3-1 in the team match.
LSU clinched a 4-1 victory and a spot in the SEC quarterfinal round when Erickson defeated Kacie Harvey at the No. 6 spot. Erickson opened the match with her foot on the gas and only dropped two games in a 6-2 win. The second set saw Erickson take an early lead and hold off a comeback effort from Harvey in a 6-4 win to clinch LSU’s first postseason win of the year. Individually, Erickson’s win was her 10th singles win of the year, becoming the fourth Tiger to break double digit wins in singles play this spring.
Up Next
LSU will face tournament-hosts and top-seeded Georgia (17-4) at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, April 19.
The Bulldogs finished atop the SEC in the regular season with Texas A&M with a 12-1 record in SEC matches. The Bulldogs and the Tigers faced off in Athens just one month ago, where the host team claimed a 4-0 win. The Bulldogs were powered in SEC play by Guillermina Grant, who posted a perfect 10-0 record and is on a 13 match win streak dating back to non-conference play.
In doubles, Georgia has been a force posting a 35-15 doubles record across the three doubles spots. Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova lead the team with an 11-6 record at the No. 1 spot this season and are currently ranked No. 13 by the ITA.
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LSU vs. Arkansas
Apr. 18, 2024
LSU Tennis Complex
#33 LSU 4, #41 Arkansas 1
Singles
- #29 Carolina Gomez Alons (ARK) def. #112 Aran Teixido Garcia (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
- #89 Florentine Dekkers (LSU) vs. Kelly Keller (ARK) 6-4, 5-5, unfinished
- Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) vs. Lenka Stara (ARK) 6-2, 5-4, unfinished
- Maya Tahan (LSU) def. Indianna Spink (ARK) 6-2, 6-1
- Gaby Rivera (LSU) def. Morgan Cross (ARK) 6-1, 6-1
- Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. Kacie Harvey (ARK) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
- #45 Anita Sahdiieva/Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. #57 Morgan Cross/Anet Koskel (ARK) 6-3
- Maya Tahan/Gaby Rivera (LSU) def. Lenka Stara/Grace O’Donnell (ARK) 6-3
- Carolina Gomez Alons/Kelly Keller (ARK) def. Aran Teixido Garcia/Florentine Dekkers (LSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Arkansas 12-12; National ranking #41
LSU 15-9; National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,1,6)
SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament Match #5
#8 LSU vs #9 Arkansas