On a day when the No. 24 LSU women’s tennis team honored its four seniors, it was junior Nicole Kantor who stole the show.
Kantor’s three-set 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, victory against Natasa Vuckovic clinched a 5-2 win for the Lady Tigers’ (13-6, 3-4) versus Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina (11-8, 4-4) on senior day at W.T.”Dub” Robinson Stadium.
LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis could find few words to describe Kantor’s performance.
“Huge,” he said. “This kid cares so much and puts so much into it. I was just really happy for her. I don’t know of a player who fights as much as she does, but she fights really hard.”
Kantor jumped out to an early lead by grabbing the first set, but Vuckovic battled back to even the match.
Kantor controlled most of the third set, but experienced mental breakdowns, yelling out several times after missing shots.
“I got really tight,” she said. “I saw we we’re really close and I just got really nervous — I got frustrated.”
LSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a day when four seniors — Megan Falcon, MyKala Hedberg, Staten Spencer and Chandler Kleinpeter — were honored during pre-game ceremonies.
Although Falcon and Hedberg, the No. 17 doubles team in the country, were upset by No. 63 Vuckovic and Ana Marija Zubori, 9-8 (11-9), the Lady Tigers still managed to claim the doubles point.
Kantor and Spencer defeated Suzanna Mansour and Dijana Stojic 8-3, and junior Hannah Robinson and freshman Whitney Wolf defeated Miljana Jocic and Gira Schofield 8-5 to give LSU a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Tigers opened up singles play with two quick victories, pushing their lead to 3-0.
Wolf had an opportunity to clinch the match for LSU when she went up, 5-2, in the third set against Stojic, but she lost five straight games and the match, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Falcon, the No. 17 singles player in the country, cruised by the No. 59 Schofield in her last match at W.T.”Dub” Robinson Stadium in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
The Alameda, Calif., native led her team to its first victory over Florida in program history Friday, when the Lady Tigers upset the No. 16 Gators, 4-3.
Falcon remained upbeat about playing her final game in Baton Rouge, a place she has called home the past four years.
“It’s a good feeling that this is our last home match,” she said. “Friday was awesome and today was awesome. I’m just proud of the team.”
Kantor said it is tough to think about losing four seniors because they are irreplaceable.
“They’ve done an unbelievable job, and I can’t even imagine the team without them next year,” she said.
Minnis couldn’t agree more.
“They mean everything,” he said. “These kids have fought tooth and nail, and I’m so proud of them.”
The Lady Tigers will carry their two-game winning streak to Oxford, Miss., on Friday, when they take on No. 27 Ole Miss.
 
TIGERS UPSET GAMECOCKS IN COLUMBIA
Meanwhile, the LSU men’s tennis team upset No. 17 South Carolina, 5-1, in its final road match of the season.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Tigers (7-9, 2-6).
Freshman Neal Skupski clinched the match for the Tigers, defeating Jaime Cuellar, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 for his fifth straight victory.
Michael Venus, the No. 6 singles player in the country, knocked off No. 52 Diego Cubas in straight sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
In doubles, Venus and Skupski, the No. 8 duo in the country, defeated the No. 28 tandem of Cubas and Ivan Machado, 8-6.
“We found a way to win in doubles, even though we didn’t play to our highest ability,” LSU men’s tennis coach Jeff Brown said in a news release.
The Tigers return home for three straight home games to close out the regular season, starting with No. 2 Ole Miss on Friday.
 
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