After defeating nine ranked players in a span of 10 days in her college debut, sophomore Megan Falcon said she is not worried about becoming overconfident. “I am proud of what I have accomplished at that tournament,” she said. “But it is only one tournament of many, and I am trying to get ready for the ones to come.” Last week at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, Falcon won the consolation bracket, beating five players ranked in the national top 50, including the No. 5 player in the country, Zsuzsanna Fodor of the University of California. Falcon said she was able to beat Fodor because she had a good frame of mind. “Beating the No. 5 player in the country felt pretty good, but it was just like any other match,” she said. “I tried not to look at it any differently.” With her performance at Riviera, Falcon qualified for the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio. LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said Falcon’s play in her debut was a huge lift for the Tigers. “Talk about a heck of a way to start,” Minnis said. “For her to do what she did at the All-American Tournament, I’m not going to say we’re surprised, but we’re very impressed.” The Lady Tigers return to action Friday in the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland, Texas. Minnis said Falcon is not expected to play this weekend because of her strenuous schedule last week at the All-American Championships. According to Minnis, junior Anastasiya Dubova, sophomore Staten Spencer and freshman Hannah Robinson are the only Lady Tigers who will participate this weekend. “There will be some very tough teams and some good players there,” Minnis said. “So we’ll try to make a good showing.” As a freshman in the 2004-2005 season, Spencer led the Tigers with 27 wins, but back surgery forced her to miss all of the 2005-2006 season and caused her to apply for a medical redshirt. Minnis said this weekend will be an important step in Spencer’s recovery. “We’re just trying to get her experience, and hopefully we can get her back to the form she was in two years ago when she had a dynamite freshman year,” he said. Dubova played at the Hoover Classic in Bloomington, Ind., last weekend, where she won the back end of the flight “B” singles bracket. Robinson is playing for the first time since the Maryland Invitational on Sept. 22 in College Park, Md., where she was defeated in the flight “B” bracket finals. After a successful weekend at the All-American Championships, Falcon said she expects her teammates to build on what she accomplished last week. “I expect that everyone on the team puts forth their best effort and not have any regrets after matches,” she said.
—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]