LSU sophomore Megan Falcon capped off her first collegiate tournament Sunday by winning the consolation singles bracket at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The tournament, which featured some of the best women’s collegiate tennis players in the nation, was Falcon’s first test since playing in the world tennis circuit last year.
After losing Thursday to No. 19 Melanie Gloria of Fresno State University, 6-4, 6-2, Falcon stormed back and defeated three high-ranked players to make it to the consolation finals.
No. 20 Celia Durkin of Stanford University was no match for Falcon, who defeated her in two sets, 6-0, 6-0, to take home her first collegiate title in the final day of play.
“It really meant a lot to me even though it was only the consolation bracket,” Falcon said. “I was really glad I was able to bounce back after losing in the main draw.”
Falcon began tournament play by defeating the No. 116 ranked player in the nation, University of Hawaii senior Sabita Walkup, 6-3, 6-0, and Northwestern University freshman Laura Lui, 6-3, 6-4, during the first day of pre-qualifying rounds Sept. 30.
Falcon continued her strong play by winning her final pre-qualifying match of the tournament, when she defeated No. 95 freshman Rawia Elsisi of Troy University in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.
After the match against Elsisi, LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said he was very proud of how Falcon played and the intensity she showed on the court.
“Megan played an incredible match,” Minnis said in a news release. “Her opponent made some big shots, and Megan played good defense and crushed the girl’s spirit.”
After the win against Elsisi, Falcon easily defeated No. 54 senior Alison Silverio of Georgia Tech University, No. 33 junior Tracy Lin of University of California at Los Angeles and No. 45 junior Carol Salge of Clemson University to advance to the main draw of the tournament.
After losing her first match in the tournament, Falcon upset the No. 5- ranked player in the nation, University of California senior Zsuzsanna Fodor, 6-3, 6-1, en route to her match against Durkin.
Golden Bears women’s tennis coach Jan Brogan said Falcon is a special player and is someone LSU is lucky to have.
“She is a terrific player,” Brogan said. “To come in and defeat one of my best players the way she did was very impressive. She controlled the entire match, and that’s a real difficult thing to do.”
With her win in the consolation final, Falcon improved her record to 10-1, nine of which came against ranked opponents, including five wins against top-50 players.
Throughout the tournament, Falcon only dropped three sets, something LSU assistant coach Lisa Jackson said is a sign of good things to come.
“She showed a lot of character during this tournament,” Jackson said. “I am very proud of how she played and look forward to seeing her have more success in the future.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]