Lady Tigers Win Fourth-Straight at SDSU Behind Stellar Singles Play
SAN DIEGO – The LSU Lady Tigers (5-2) concluded their West Coast road trip in style winning their fourth-consecutive match over the San Diego State Aztecs (2-5) by a 6-1 margin as they claimed all six singles points after dropping the initial doubles point on Tuesday at the Aztec Tennis Center.
“Right now this team just continues to fight hard,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We did good job of coming from having backs against wall today. We were down in matches on multiple courts and we found a way to battle back. It showed we have a lot of heart and a lot of guts.”
In the first completed match of the afternoon, Ebie Wilson and Ariel Morton fell 8-3 to Emma Cioffi and Laura Antonana Iriarte on court one.
Julia Wais and Alicia Aguilar then clinched the doubles point 8-4 over Olivia Howlett and Yvette Vlaar on court two.
Whitney Wolf and Keri Frankenberger defeated Roxanne and Sierra Ellison 8-7 (1) on court one as they came out firing on all cylinders in the deciding tiebreaker. The veteran partnership has mirrored the Lady Tigers’ recent strong-spell as they have also won four-consecutive matches together on top of being undefeated in the three tiebreakers they have played this season dating back to the fall.
LSU responded to losing out on the doubles point in the ideal manner as they played great on each singles court to win all the matches they played. Kaitlin Burns cruised 6-1, 6-4 over Antonaña Iriarte on court three to open the scoring for the Lady Tigers taking the junior to 45 career victories.
Ebie Wilson also needed just two sets as she beat Sierra Ellison 6-2, 6-3 on court four to make the overall match score 2-1 in LSU’s favor, a lead they would never relinquish.
Olivia Howlett then toppled Juila Wais 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on court one to bring the Lady Tigers within a point of the overall victory. The win was Howlett’s fourth-straight, and second in-a-row on court one, bringing her to 8-2 in her last 10.
Whitney Wolf battled back from a set down earning a late break in the final set to clinch the match for LSU by overcoming Emma Cioffi 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 on court two.
Yvette Vlaar then kept the perfect singles record for the day alive by taking two tiebreaks from Kristin Buth 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) on court six. She has now emerged victorious in each of her previous four singles appearances in addition to her 7-3 record in the 10 most recent matchups.
Keri Frankenberger than completed the singles sweep with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) triumph over Alicia Aguilar on court five for the seventh positive result from her previous 10.
LSU now leads the all-time matchup against SDSU by a 2-1 margin.
The Lady Tigers will be the visitors once again for their next match, the Southeastern Conference opener at Kentucky on Friday, March 2.
Kentucky Women’s Tennis Falls to Akron 4-3
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In its first road match of the season, the University of Kentucky tennis team lost a heartbreaker. The Wildcats faced the Zips of Akron in Akron, Ohio, and dropped the 4-3 decision, making the team 8-2 on the season.
The Cats came out strong in doubles play. Per usual, sophomore Caitlin McGraw and freshman Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff took charge at the No. 2 doubles position. The duo took on Angelika Jogasuria and Angelina Jogasuria, defeating them, 8-4. Sophomores CeCe Witten and Marni Venter followed suit, grabbing an, 8-5, victory over Olga Shkundina and Natlia Kuvakina. With these two wins, the Wildcats secured the doubles point.
Morin-Kougoucheff and Witten continued to excel as they transitioned into singles play. Morin-Kougoucheff occupied the No. 3 spot, facing Angelina Jogasuria. The two fought for every point, but Morin-Kougoucheff was able to pull through to take the victory, 6-4, 7-5. Witten faired slightly better, as she grabbed a 6-2, 6-3, win over Ksenia Berestetska.
Sophomore Khristina Blajkevitch endured a tough match at the No. 1 singles position against Zara Haruntyunyan. After losing the first set, 6-2, Blajkevitch rallied to take the second set, 6-3. The two continued to battle for the win that would clinch the match, but Harutyunyan edged out Blajkevitch in the final set to ultimately win, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
The efforts put forth by the Cats were not enough to take the win today, but seventh-year head coach, Carlos Drada, sees this match as a building block for the season.
“We played an experienced Akron team and learned a lot about ourselves in the process,” said Drada, “At the end of the season this tough loss will prove to be of great help. I am proud of the way our women competed.”
Next, the Wildcats will take to the road again, facing Indiana on Feb. 26 at 11 a.m. ET.