The LSU women’s tennis team had quite a long day Wednesday.
The Lady Tigers played more than six hours of tennis in a two-match doubleheader at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. LSU defeated Colorado, 6-0, and came back on the court an hour later to beat Southern, 6-1.
LSU (9-7, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) started its first match at 3 p.m. and didn’t finish until 10:30 p.m. The last point resulted in a two-hour marathon between LSU freshman Hayley Everett and Lois Alexis of Southern, with Alexis winning 7-6, 6-2 to earn Southern’s lone point.
“I was pretty happy with today,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “We played very solid in singles against Colorado. We came out a little flat in doubles but picked it up nicely and played well overall against Southern.”
The Lady Tigers have found the key to success this season doesn’t come without changes. LSU went through a lineup shuffle for the second time this season with the absence of freshman Ariel Morton, who sat Wednesday out.
Minnis said Morton fell off a skateboard and will likely be out for a while after injuring her arm. Morton attended both matches with her arm wrapped up in an ace bandage.
The new doubles lineup looked different from the one LSU started with this season. Minnis paired sophomore Keri Frankenberger and freshman Yvette Vlaar together last month after Frankenberger and junior Whitney Wolf started the season 0-4.
LSU has won eight of its 10 matches since then, and Frankenberger and Vlaar have established an 8-1 record.
Vlaar and Frankenberger used Wednesday to rebound from their first doubles loss last week. They defeated Colorado’s Abbie Probert and M. Hedelund Jensen 8-4. Wolf and sophomore Kaitlin Burns followed suit with an 8-3 win against Ania Anuszkiewicz and Kristina Schleich to win the doubles point for the Lady Tigers.
Senior Kylie Adamek, who stepped in for Morton, got singles play off to a quick start with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Kristina Barber on court six.
“I was very impressed with Kylie,” Minnis said. “She’s everything you look for in a collegiate athlete. She walked onto the team, and she’s made tremendous strides.”
Vlaar and sophomore Ebie Wilson also made quick work of their opponents, with both winning in straight sets.
Vlaar defeated Anuszkiewicz 6-1, 6-1, followed by Wilson, who defeated Winde Janssens 6-0, 6-2. Burns defeated Abbie Probert 7-5, 6-0 to end the match. LSU called the match before Frankenberger finished her set.
The Lady Tigers came back out on the court at 7 p.m. to defeat Southern. LSU swept all three matches in doubles play and defeated Southern in straight sets on five of six courts before Everett’s defeat.
The Lady Tigers will return to SEC play when they host Georgia at 3 p.m. on Friday for the last match of a five-game homestand. Minnis said junior college transfer Olivia Howlett, a junior college national champion, will likely make her debut against the Bulldogs at court two.
 
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Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]