As LSU junior transfer Noel Scott walked off Auburn University’s blue hardcourts Saturday, the defeat she suffered resonated in her thoughts much like the sound of shuffling sneakers that echoed among the Yarbrough Tennis Center’s rafters.
But despite Scott’s loss in the third round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern Regional Championships, Lady Tiger coach Julia Sell sensed progress.
LSU joined 13 teams in Auburn, Ala., this weekend to showcase its talents among four fellow Southeastern Conference foes. Team scores were not calculated but the Lady Tigers posted five singles and two doubles victories in the event.
Two of those singles wins came from Scott, as her tournament run ended in the round of 16 with a loss to eventual-champion No. 18 Pleun Burgmans of Auburn.
As Scott led the match three games to none in the first set and 4-1 in the second, frustration began to mount as she eventually lost 6-3, 6-4. However, Sell was able to keep Scott’s performance against the tournament’s No. 1 player in perspective.
“You’re watching that match indoors, a round of 16, and I thought I was watching the finals of regionals,” Sell said. “ … [Burgmans] is probably one of the best players in college tennis … [Noel] really actually should’ve won the match and just let a few mental mistakes creep in there. But she played really well.”
The team consisting of senior Ariel Morton and sophomore Ella Taylor joined Scott in play on Saturday as they defeated Ole Miss’ second-seeded Marija Milutinovic and Caroline Rhode-Moe 8-5 in the second round of doubles.
LSU’s win against the Rebels’ No. 24 pairing was impressive enough despite the fact that this weekend marked the first time Morton and Taylor have ever teamed up together.
The duo started practicing together just two days before the tournament when junior Mary Jeremiah, the Lady Tigers’ top doubles player, was ruled out due to injury.
But Sell said she saw a spark in the pair last week that prompted her to give them a shot.
“There’s so much team chemistry that goes into doubles and they’re kind of like that unlikely pair,” Sell said. “They thought I was crazy when I put ’em together. They both kind of looked at me and rolled their eyes and were like, ‘Are you sure coach?’ But the way that they talk with each other and keep working through the match … they played great. It’s the best doubles play I’ve seen either of them do since I’ve been working with them.”
Morton and Taylor fell in the quarterfinal round to Alabama’s fifth-seeded Mary Anne Daines and Natalia Maynetto.
Taylor and freshman Gabrielle Otero both notched singles victories in the first round before being knocked out in the second. Otero’s 6-4, 6-4 win came against Mississippi State’s ninth-seeded Alexandra Perper.
Freshman Skylar Holloway followed her opening-round loss to ninth-seeded, tournament runner-up Emily Flickinger of Auburn with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 defeat of Mississippi State’s Roseline Dion in the consolation draw.
With three freshmen and a transfer new to the Lady Tigers squad this fall, Sell expects there to be some growing pains. With the first exposure to SEC competition in the books, Sell said LSU can hold its heads high.
“We’re just new. I think the errors we made, matches we lost, we just showed our youth,” Sell said. “Kind of some rookie mistakes but really that’s what you expect from your freshmen and this is just an ideal time for them to kind of learn this lesson. … I feel really confident about our ability going up against a lot of the other SEC teams this year.”