The No. 19 LSU women’s tennis squad started the season with two 7-0 victories over Southern and Northwestern St. at the LSU Tennis Complex on Saturday.
“I thought it was a really solid start top to bottom,” said co-head coach Julia Sell in a press release. “Everybody looked really fit and decisive in all their play. This is a great starting point for the season.”
The Lady Tigers faced Northwestern St. in their first match and won the first point of the match in a doubles series.
In the doubles competition, senior Joana Valle Costa and junior Ryann Foster defeated Northwestern St.’s Ityna Vardanian and Polina Mutel 6-2.
Senior Skylar Holloway and sophomore Jessica Golovin defeated Kateryna Avram and Vladislava Lityinova 6-1.
Holloway and Foster won their singles matches 6-0 and 6-0, earning the Lady Tigers two more points.
Freshmen Becca Weissmann and Jade Lewis won their first victories as Lady Tigers, defeating Emilija Dancetovic 6-0, 6-1, on court five while Lewis defeated Vardanian 6-1, 6-3.
Valle Costa defeated Ivanova to give the Lady Tigers their seventh and final point in the sweep.
Against Southern, Foster and Golovin defeated Chirewa and Moore 6-2, while Holloway and Owens defeated Raymond and Neal 6-2.
Lewis and Weissmann paired again to beat Chakanyuka and Mbaya 6-1.
In singles play, Lewis defeated Mbaya 6-0, 6-0.
“Jade is such a great competitor,” Sell said. “There’s no point where she isn’t 100 percent intense and focused and fighting for every point. In college tennis, that goes a very long way and to come in as a freshman who just started in January, she’s adjusted perfectly. You couldn’t ask for a better start than that.”
Golovin and Weissmann each won their singles matches, scoring 6-0, 6-1 to clinch the match for LSU, and Foster defeated Tanaka Chakanyuka 6-1, 6-2 to make the score 5-0.
Owens brought the Tiger lead to 6-0 defeating Kent and Holloway brought the final point after defeating Raymond.
The Lady Tigers will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend Wake Forest on Saturday, Jan. 28, followed by Virginia or Ole Miss on Sunday.
