After a two hour and 45 minute rain delay, everything went as planned for the No. 18 LSU women’s tennis team in the first round of the NCAA Championship against Columbia University.
The frequent struggles in doubles play were left behind in the regular season and the lineups still clicked.
Junior Abby Owens and sophomore Ryann Foster already delivered strong performances during the SEC Championship on April 21-22 and continued handling the pressure of playing at the No. 1 spot for the Lady Tigers with ease.
Their 6-4 win over Columbia’s sophomores Rima Asatrian and Alexandra Solovyev was quickly followed by LSU’s junior Joana Vale Costa and senior Ella Taylor’s 6-1 win on court 3. The Lady Tigers had clinched the doubles point in no-time and came out with momentum to singles play.
“I thought we really did a good job of handling the weather delay and overcoming a slow start to take charge of the match,” said co-head coach Julia Sell in a press release. “We have been working hard on doubles and changed the way we train and work on things. It was nice to see it pay off today.”
The Lady Tigers needed three wins in singles to advance to the next round and they all came in two sets.
Junior Abigail Owens made it clear that her phenomenal season at court 5 did not end in conference play, as she was first to defeat her matchup, sophomore Adi Milstin, 6-0 and 6-1.
LSU went on to sweep Columbia, 4-0, with a 6-1, 6-1 win by Taylor and a 7-5, 6-1 win by freshman Jessica Golovin.
As the Lady Tigers found themselves in the second round for the second consecutive year, weather delayed the matchup against No. 14 Virginia by 45 minutes and forced the teams to the indoor courts.
Here, the season that brought LSU’s women’s tennis program their first participation at the ITA Indoor Championships, the highest national ranking in history and the No. 1 recruiting class for the upcoming season reached its end.
Though the Lady Tigers took court 3 in doubles play, the duos on 1 and 2 fell 6-4 and 7-6, respectively, putting singles play pressure to a maximum.
LSU’s No. 22 Vale Costa faced her highest ranked opponent of the season in Virginia’s senior No. 2 Danielle Collins.
The Lisbon, Portugal, native fell in two sets, 6-1 and 6-2.
As Owens put the Lady Tigers on the scoreboard with her 6-3, 6-1 win on court 5, Taylor followed up with tying the overall score, 2-2, with what would become her last match of her collegiate career.
Despite a slight feeling of hope as Golovin’s and Foster’s matchups went in to third sets, Virginia carried all momentum and finally defeated LSU, 4-2, with wins on courts 3 and 4.
“We have to give Virginia a lot of credit,” Sell said. “This match was about pressure-filled moments and they stayed calm and composed. They are used to being in this position. I was proud of the way we fought from the very beginning though. We are going to learn from this and build from it toward next season.”
