LSU women’s tennis’ matches on Sunday seemed like they were over in the blink of an eye, as the No. 24 team pulled off 4-0 sweeps against both Rice (2-2) and Southern (0-3) in dominating fashion. Though this isn’t considered proving themselves yet, they certainly made a statement early on in the season.
The Tigers started with Rice, who arguably gave them their hardest challenge of the day. Doubles went swiftly with the senior duo of Taylor Bridges and Paris Corley and the sophomore duo of Maggie Cubitt and Safiya Carrington each won their matches 6-1, but singles was a little more interesting.
The Tigers started with Rice, who arguably gave them their hardest challenge of the day. Doubles went swiftly with the senior duo of Taylor Bridges and Paris Corley and the sophomore duo of Maggie Cubitt and Safiya Carrington each won their matches 6-1, but singles was a little more interesting.
Multiple matches went to three sets, including one featuring No. 41 Bridges. She got off to a slow start, losing her first set 1-6.
But she would rally in the second set and never look back, only dropping one more game on the way to a 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory. Bridges’ maturity showed, and she credited her performance to her ability to remain collected.
“Not to blame the wind, but my feet weren’t moving, and it was just a slow start,” Bridges explained. “But I stayed calm and positive and just kept doing what I was doing, and it worked out.”
Her singles point came behind Corley’s 6-1, 6-4 win, leaving the Tigers with just one more point to claim the first sweep. This point would fall into the hands of sophomore Nina Geissler.
But she would rally in the second set and never look back, only dropping one more game on the way to a 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory. Bridges’ maturity showed, and she credited her performance to her ability to remain collected.
“Not to blame the wind, but my feet weren’t moving, and it was just a slow start,” Bridges explained. “But I stayed calm and positive and just kept doing what I was doing, and it worked out.”
Her singles point came behind Corley’s 6-1, 6-4 win, leaving the Tigers with just one more point to claim the first sweep. This point would fall into the hands of sophomore Nina Geissler.
After taking a tough first set that went into tiebreakers, Geissler would handle business and win 7-6(7-4), 6-4, earning what she believes to be her first clinch point ever for LSU.
“I think it was actually my first time ever clinching a match so that was great,” Geissler said. “It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward to the next matches.”
To say Bridges and Geissler would carry that momentum into their next matches would be an understatement.
Geissler pulled off a clean 6-0, 6-0 sweep against Southern in singles and Bridges and freshman Samantha Buyckx would handle business in doubles with a 6-1 victory. Bridges also got within one point of pulling off a clean sweep in singles too, but the team clinched the match before she could finish.
The other singles points went to Buyckx and Eden Richardson, who dropped a combined two games in their matches. When asked about the team’s overall performance, Geissler gave their hard work in practice credit.
“Everyone is super motivated, and we push each other hard in practice, so it’s fun to see that it also works in matches, especially the first couple,” Geissler said. “It’s very important to set a statement to opponents as well. It was great that everyone was playing so well today.”
Bridges agreed, mentioning the importance of starting the season strong.
“Since it was our first match, the biggest thing was having good energy and coming out strong, and I feel like we did that,” Bridges said. “The momentum going into Tulane, we’re just going to carry that forward and I feel good about it.”
The Tigers face off against Tulane on Wednesday at the LSU Tennis Complex. They will look to continue winning early in the hopes of moving up in the rankings.
“I think it was actually my first time ever clinching a match so that was great,” Geissler said. “It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward to the next matches.”
To say Bridges and Geissler would carry that momentum into their next matches would be an understatement.
Geissler pulled off a clean 6-0, 6-0 sweep against Southern in singles and Bridges and freshman Samantha Buyckx would handle business in doubles with a 6-1 victory. Bridges also got within one point of pulling off a clean sweep in singles too, but the team clinched the match before she could finish.
The other singles points went to Buyckx and Eden Richardson, who dropped a combined two games in their matches. When asked about the team’s overall performance, Geissler gave their hard work in practice credit.
“Everyone is super motivated, and we push each other hard in practice, so it’s fun to see that it also works in matches, especially the first couple,” Geissler said. “It’s very important to set a statement to opponents as well. It was great that everyone was playing so well today.”
Bridges agreed, mentioning the importance of starting the season strong.
“Since it was our first match, the biggest thing was having good energy and coming out strong, and I feel like we did that,” Bridges said. “The momentum going into Tulane, we’re just going to carry that forward and I feel good about it.”
The Tigers face off against Tulane on Wednesday at the LSU Tennis Complex. They will look to continue winning early in the hopes of moving up in the rankings.
