The LSU women’s tennis team knew its matches against Texas A&M Sunday afternoon at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium would be “war.” In fact, it was a war that lasted more than four hours, but the outcome was not what the Lady Tigers had hoped for. They lost to one of their biggest non-conference rivals, 6-1, and the mood afterward was one of frustration. “This can’t happen again at home,” said senior Tiffany Tucker. “This is what we’ve been working for, and you just want to keep fighting and staying on the court for your teammates. We can’t let nerves affect us. We just have to come out and play every match the same way every time.” LSU coach Tony Minnis said the team was very disappointed in its performance. “One of the strengths of our team this year has been competing really well,” Minnis said. “For whatever reason today, I didn’t have them prepared to play with the right type of focus and attitude, so I’ve got to do a better job of making sure they’re ready. Up until this point, I’ve been really proud of how hard we’ve been fighting.” The Lady Tigers struggled again in doubles play as Texas A&M swept them in all three matches to win the doubles point. Juniors Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer, the No. 30 duo in the nation, lost to the Aggies’ Tiffany Clifford and Christi Liles, 8-2, snapping their 6-match winning streak. “We just have to take it for what it was and learn from it,” Hedberg said. “We have to put it behind us and realize we have a few things we need to work on. We just have to forget about it and move forward.” Tucker, Hedberg and Spencer battled through three-set singles matches, all coming back from one set down to even their contests. Spencer had two match points in a third-set tiebreaker, but Aggies’ sophomore Michelle Sammons closed out the match 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (6). LSU junior Megan Falcon, the No. 8 player in the nation, was the only winner Sunday for the Lady Tigers, winning her singles match in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 against Elze Potgieter. “I’m glad I was able to contribute today,” Falcon said. “But it’s hard when everybody else is having tough matches, and I wish the outcome of our match would have been better. It’s not as fulfilling winning when your team loses.” The Lady Tigers will face New Mexico and Grambling next weekend in another doubleheader at home.
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