LSU carried out its last dress rehearsal this weekend in its final fall event.
The Lady Tigers competed in the Roberta Alison Fall Classic, an exhibition-style tournament which began on Friday morning.
The meet, a compass draw format, featured six Southeastern Conference teams and was the last live competition LSU will see until spring 2014.
Every Lady Tiger singles player and each of LSU’s three doubles teams earned at least one victory throughout the tournament.
Freshmen Gabrielle Otero and Skylar Holloway led the Lady Tigers in doubles as the duo won each of its two matches on Saturday.
Holloway won both of her singles matches on Friday, notching a marquee victory against No. 13 Clemson’s Carola Pederzani, 6-0, 6-0.
“In both of [Holloway’s] singles matches, she was just really exceptional,” said LSU coach Julia Sell. “She’s had a tough fall, taking some tough draws. To put it all together and get a reward for her hard work was really nice to see.”
Junior transfer Noel Scott also faced some strong competition as she defeated No. 111 Veronica Corning of Northwestern, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, before falling to No. 76 Georgiana Patrasc of Mississippi State 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Friday.
LSU won 13 of its 27 matches played over the weekend.
Even in defeat, the Lady Tigers fought hard as several of the matches went to three sets and tiebreakers. In a fast-paced, two-day tournament this weekend, Sell said the resiliency shown by LSU will go a long way in determining its success during the grueling 2014 spring season.
“They were exhausted but they kept fighting,” Sell said. “Noel did a particularly great job, she’s down 4 to 1, fights back and gets it to 5-4. It shows that they’re hungry, that they want to win, that they’re always going to fight.”
After Saturday, the stage is set for the Lady Tigers’ real performance as the 2014 regular dual season begins on Jan. 19 in “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
But this week, the Lady Tigers will sit down and evaluate their development and what areas they need to improve on for the new year, Sell said.
As the curtains close on LSU’s fall season, Sell can reflect on the Lady Tigers’ progress, the introduction of four new faces, and look forward to the future.
“They’re passionate about the game,” Sell said. “There’s really not a bad word to say about any of them. They’re all sort of taking care of business.”