LSU women’s tennis downs Arkansas 5-2
Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletic’s department.
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU women’s tennis team (8-3, 2-2 SEC) won its second consecutive SEC match on Sunday afternoon when the Tigers defeated Arkansas (6-7, 0-4 SEC) by a score of 5-2 at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Taylor’s Thoughts
“The ladies came out and set the tone in doubles today,” head coach Taylor Fogleman said. “I told the team in the locker room that that was probably our best doubles performance all season. We’ve usually had two courts give us wins which has secured a lot of doubles points this season, but we felt all three courts performed phenomenally today.”
“We knew Arkansas is a very gritty team and they showed it today, credit to Christina (Sanchez-Quintanar, head coach) and Tucker (Clary, assistant coach) for the great job they do over there. They made us earn it today, but I’m very proud of our team for staying poised and consistent with their own game styles today and that got us over the line today. A thank you to our awesome support at today’s match as well!”
Doubles Results
Kylie Collins and Nina Geissler gave the Tigers the strong start they were looking for when they defeated Grace O’Donnell and Lenka Stara by a score of 6-3 at the No. 2 doubles spot.
LSU clinched its ninth doubles point this season when Maggie Cubitt and Nikita Vishwase held off a late charge from Carolina Gomez and Kelly Keller to win 6-4 at the No. 3 court and give LSU the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Singles Results
Arkansas tied it up at 1-1 after Stara defeated Vishwase at the No. 5 singles court. Stara claimed the first set by a score of 6-3 and then held on to narrowly beat Vishwase in the second, 6-4, to put the Razorbacks on the board.
The Tigers retook the lead at 2-1 thanks to Safiya Carrington getting a straight set win over Morgan Cross at the No. 4. The two battled out an even first set and split 12 games at 6-6, requiring a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Carrington strung points together and went on to win 7-4. The second set was a great one for the Tiger as she only dropped two games to win 6-2. The win was her seventh in dual play this season and she is currently on a three-match winning streak.
LSU extended it’s lead to 3-1 when No. 26 Anastasiya Komar came out on top in a ranked battle over No. 68 Carolina Gomez at the No. 2 spot. Komar took an early lead in the first set and went on to win, 6-3. Gomez replied in the second set with a strong start and claimed her own 6-3 win to force a third. Komar regained her footing in the third set and only dropped one game as she cruised to a 6-1 win to secure the win. With the win, Komar improved to 10-0 in dual matches and took her season-total wins to 24 on the year.
The Razorbacks’ final point of the match came from the top court, where Keller upset No. 17 Collins. Keller claimed the first set by a score of 6-3 and held Collins off in a long second set that required a tiebreaker, which Keller won by a close margin of 7-4.
Graduate student Mia Rabinowitz grabbed her second consecutive clinch point of the weekend as she took down Kacie Harvey in straight sets at the No. 6. The first set required a tiebreaker to decide it, which Rabinowitz narrowly edged by a margin of 8-6. In the second set, Rabinowitz battled back from a small deficit to defeat Harvey, 7-5, and grab LSU the fourth and clinching point of the match. The win was Rabinowitz’s fourth in dual matches this season and her eighth overall.
Geissler rounded the day out for the Tigers by getting a come-from-behind win at the No. 3 court over Indianna Spink. Spink narrowly edged Geissler in the first set, 6-4, before the Swedish Tiger equalized in the second set with a 6-3 win to extend the match. The third set had Geissler take the early lead and not look back on her way to a 6-3 win to make the final team score 5-2 on the day. The win was Geissler’s sixth in dual matches this season and her third in SEC play.
Up Next
LSU hits the road to face No. 2 Texas A&M at 5 p.m. CT on Friday, March 17.
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#39 LSU 5, #66 Arkansas 2
Singles competition
Kelly Keller (ARKW) def. #17 Kylie Collins (LSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
#26 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. #68 Carolina Gomez (ARKW) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Indianna Spink (ARKW) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Safiya Carrington (LSU) def. Morgan Cross (ARKW) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Lenka Stara (ARKW) def. Nikita Vishwase (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) def. Kacie Harvey (ARKW) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
Doubles competition
#66 Safiya Carrington/Anastasiya Komar (LSU) vs. #23 Morgan Cross/Indianna Spink (ARKW) 5-5, unfinished
Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Grace O’Donnell/Lenka Stara (ARKW) 6-3
Maggie Cubitt/Nikita Vishwase (LSU) def. Carolina Gomez/Kelly Keller (ARKW) 6-4
Match Notes:
Arkansas Women 6-7, 0-4 SEC; National ranking #65
LSU 8-3, 2-2 SEC; National ranking #39
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,4,2,1,6,3)
Official: Richie Weaver T-3:44 A-45
