LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis’ team is hot.
The Lady Tigers (7-6, 3-1) extended their winning streak to five matches on Wednesday, knocking off Iowa and Grambling State in a doubleheader at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
After a weekend sweep of Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Lady Tigers picked up right where they left off, taking all three doubles matches from Iowa and clinching their fifth doubles point in their last six tries.
Sophomore Ebie Wilson and freshman Ariel Morton took down Iowa’s Ally Majercik and Cassandra Escobar, 8-3, and freshman Keri Frankenberger teamed up with sophomore Yvette Vlaar to beat Lynne Poggensee-Wei and Alexis Dorr and secure the early 1-0 lead.
LSU’s second and third points followed quickly.
Frankenberger and Vlaar cruised to straight set wins, dropping a combined four games in four sets.
Minnis’ squad had to work for the fourth and decisive point.
Sophomore Kaitlin Burns prevailed in a second-set tiebreaker, taking down Jessica Young, 6-2, 7-6, and the Hawkeyes.
“[Iowa] made the NCAA tournament last year, and they return a lot of their players,” Minnis said. “I’ve got to give these kids credit — they’re really stepping up and playing some good tennis.”
Wilson and Morton followed suit with straight-set victories following a loss by junior Whitney Wolf to make the final score 6-1.
In the nightcap, LSU never gave Grambling any hope.
Grambling, who brought just five players to Baton Rouge, forfeited court three in doubles, but courts one and two didn’t fare much better. LSU took both matches, 8-0.
In singles, the Lady Tigers rolled to five more straight sets wins, dropping just three total games.
The Lady Tigers return to “The Dub” on Friday afternoon when No. 23 Tulsa visits Baton Rouge.
The LSU men’s tennis team continues its homestand today when it hosts No. 16 Michigan at 1 p.m.
The Tigers split a pair of home matches with Ole Miss and Mississippi State during the weekend, losing Sunday’s tilt with the Bulldogs.
“They were disappointed,” said LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown. “We’re excited to have a shot at a good team.”
Michigan enters the contest at 7-4, fresh off of a loss against No. 27 Tulsa in Ann Arbor, Mich.
 
 
 
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