Tiger Rag News Services
The No. 4 LSU women’s tennis team was unable to rally against Ole Miss, dropping the contest 5-2, on Sunday afternoon at the William F. Galtney Indoor Tennis Center.
LSU falls to 7-2 while Ole Miss improves to 6-1.
“Tough day for our ladies today,” said head coach Taylor Fogleman. “Credit to Ole Miss for their performance. They certainly came out much more ready to play in the doubles. As a result, it’s something we need to figure out from an energy perspective. In singles, the girls battled hard for the most part, and we had opportunities to get ahead in the total team score but couldn’t quite get over the line in a couple of second sets. The result is certainly disappointing and is not the outcome we want. Still, we have to dust ourselves off. That’s one of the great things about competing in the SEC: there is always another opportunity waiting. This upcoming week, we’ll hit the road to face a top-15 team in South Carolina and the top team in the country in Georgia. I’m confident our girls will embrace the challenge and respond the right way.”
Carolina Kuhl and Alexia Marginean opened doubles play on the second court against Alice Soulie and Riley Crowder. The LSU pair found themselves trailing 3-0 and later 4-1. Kuhl and Marginean would attempt to rally after taking a game, but Soulie and Crowder closed the set out with a 6-2 win.
Kinaa Graham and Addison Lanton were next on the top spot against No. 71 Andrea Nova and Emily Welker. Graham and Lanton quickly took a 2-0 lead in the lone set. However, Nova and Welker captured six straight to down the LSU duo 6-2 to give Ole Miss the doubles point.
No. 96 Graham kicked off singles play against doubles opponent Nova on court No. 4. The sophomore held an early 2-0 lead before Nova took five straight to take a 5-2 lead, later closing the set out with a 6-3 win. Afterward, Graham trailed 4-1 in the second set before later rallying at 5-3 until Nova secured the 6-3 win to give Ole Miss a 2-0 advantage.
Looking to get on the board, No. 114 Kuhl took on Brooklyn Olson on the second court. After consecutive ties, Kuhl jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the opening set. Olson would take a game, but Kuhl would earn the 6-3 victory. In the second set, Kuhl took her first lead at 3-2 and later 5-3 before earning another 6-3 set victory to alter the match score to 2-1.
McDonald took top spot honors against No. 11 Emily Welker. After opening the set with a 1-1 tie, McDonald fell behind 4-1. The newcomer would tie the set at 4-4 before Welker secured the set win at 6-4. In the second set, McDonald trailed 4-1 before tying the set again at 4-4. Welker would take consecutive leads before McDonald forced a seven-point tiebreaker. McDonald would rally but ultimately fell short at 6-7(4) to give Ole Miss a 3-1 lead.
Florentine Dekkers was next for the Tigers against Ichino Horikawa on court No. 6. After dropping the first game, Dekkers took six straight to earn a 6-1 set win. Dekkers and Horikawa continued to trade games in the following set until a seven-point tiebreaker was forced, in which Horikawa edged the graduate student 7-6(9). In the deciding set, Dekkers opened with a 1-1 tie before Horikawa captured the final five games to take the set 6-1 to clinch the 4-1 win for Ole Miss.
With the remaining matches playing out, No. 107 Kenna Erickson took on Crowder on the fifth spot. Erickson jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead to open the set. Crowder would attempt to rally before the junior closed the set out with a 6-3 win. In a competitive second set, Erickson trailed at 4-2 and later 5-3 before forcing a seven-point tiebreaker but falling short 7-6(2). Crowder took a 2-0 lead to open the final set. Erickson would later tie the set at 3-3 before Crowder earned the 6-3 set win to give Ole Miss a 5-1 lead.
In the final match of the day, No. 115 Lanton challenged Soulie on the third court. The freshman trailed early at 2-0 before capturing six straight to earn the 6-2 opening set win. Soulie rallied in the second set after a 2-2 set tie, jumping out to a 4-2 and later 5-3 lead. Lanton attempted to steal the set, but Soulie took the 6-4 victory. In the deciding set, Lanton continued to battle, forcing three ties until a seven-point tiebreaker, in which the freshman earned the 7-6(4) win to alter the match score to 5-2. With the result, Lanton is now 7-0 in solo play this season.
Singles competition
1. Ella McDonald (LSU) fell to #11 Emily Welker (OM-W) 4-6, 6-7(4-7)
2. #114 Carolina Kuhl (LSU) def. Brooklyn Olson (OM-W) 6-3, 6-3
3. #115 Addison Lanton (LSU) def. Alice Soulie (OM-W) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
4. #96 Kinaa Graham (LSU) fell to Andrea Nova (OM-W) 3-6, 3-6
5. #107 Kenna Erickson (LSU) fell to Riley Crowder (OM-W) 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 3-6
6. Florentine Dekkers (LSU) fell to Ichino Horikawa (OM-W) 6-1, 6-7 (9-11), 1-6
Doubles competition
1. Kinaa Graham/Addison Lanton (LSU) fell to #71 Emily Welker/Andrea Nova (OM-W) 2-6
2. Carolina Kuhl/Alexia Marginean (LSU) fell to Alice Soulie/Riley Crowder (OM-W) 2-6
3. #51 Kenna Erickson/Ella McDonald (LSU) vs. Brooklyn Olson/Ichino Horikawa (OM-W) 5-3, unfinished
Up Next
LSU travels to Columbia to continue SEC play against South Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 2:00 p.m. CT.
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