Finals appearances by three Lady Tigers led the way for a strong opening weekend during the first LSU women’s tennis tournament in College Park, Md., on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Junior Tiffany Tucker and freshmen Hannah Robinson and Ashley Murdock all reached the finals in their respective brackets in the Maryland Invitational.
Although three LSU players advanced to the finals, Murdock was the only one to capture a title when she defeated her teammate Tucker in the flight “C” singles final.
After Tucker took an early lead by winning the first set, 2-6, Murdock rebounded and won the second, 6-3, to even the match.
Murdock collected her first collegiate title after winning the fourth tie breaker in the third set for a 7-6 win.
LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said he was pleased with Tucker’s, Murdock’s and the entire team’s performances.
“I am very proud of those two,” Minnis said. “They both had very good tournaments. That was about as competitive a match as I’ve seen, and they really fought hard and grinded it out. I was proud of the way they went after each other.”
Although she made it to the flight “B” singles final, Robinson walked away without a title when University of Maryland sophomore Michal Amir defeated her in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Before dropping the second set in the match, Robinson won five consecutive sets in the tournament.
Minnis said Robinson stepped up during the tournament and showed she could compete at the college level.
“I’m very impressed with her focus and intensity,” Minnis said. “She performed well and did a very solid job.”
LSU freshman Nicole Kantor lost her first match as a Tiger on Friday but fired back Saturday and Sunday to reach the consolation final of the flight “A” bracket.
Kantor defeated freshman Jessie Rhee of Yale in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to win her first consolation finals match of the year.
LSU sophomore Staten Spencer also fought hard in the flight “B” consolation bracket final but lost to West Virginia University sophomore Natalia Prinz in the sixth tie breaker of the third set, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7.
The tournament was Spencer’s first since the end of the 2004-2005 season after having to sit out last year while recovering from back surgery.
LSU freshman Sloane Mathis also won her consolation final by defeating WVU’s Kathryn Klein, 7-6, 7-5.
Both Lady Tigers doubles teams in the flight “A” bracket won their consolation finals matches.
Sophomore Mykala Hedberg, who retired from her singles consolation final because of back spasms, and Robinson defeated Mountaineers sophomores Stacey Percival and Prinz, 8-6.
Spencer and Kantor also teamed up to defeat the Mountaineers’ freshmen duo of Gabriela Blaskovicova and Stephanie LaFortune, 8-6.
The Lady Tigers’ only doubles loss during the final day of the tournament came when Tucker and Murdock fell in the flight “B” doubles final to the Terrapins duo of senior Brooke Rogers and junior Julia Graca, 8-3.
Although LSU went 2-1 during the final day of doubles play, Minnis said he expected more from the doubles pairing and said that is an area the team will need to work on for upcoming events.
“I’m a little disappointed from that aspect of it,” Minnis said. “I thought we could have played better at a couple of positions. It’s tough because we have all new teams this year, and when you’re in that situation, it just takes time to get use to your partner.”
Minnis said that this past weekend showed a lot about his team and expects to see improvement over the upcoming weeks.
“I saw a lot of positive things this weekend,” Minnis said. “There are some things we need to work on, but I was really pleased with the overall effort of the team. I think if we can just keep progressing we will have a shot to do some good things.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]