The No. 13 LSU women’s tennis team defeated North Carolina State in a comeback victory, snapping its two-game losing streak to then-No. 5 North Carolina and then-No. 12 Michigan to end the ITA Indoor Championships on Feb. 6 and 7.
The Lady Tigers (7-2) struggled early falling behind 1-0, as NC State freshman Amanda Rebol and freshman Claudia Wiktorin defeated LSU’s No. 60 doubles pair of LSU senior Ella Taylor and junior Skylar Holloway, 6-4.
NC State’s junior Martina Frantova and sophomore Tayla Stenta defeated LSU senior Skylar Kukendall and junior Abby Owens, 7-6, 7-2, to clinch the doubles point for the Pack after breaking a 6-6 tie in the final match of the doubles round.
LSU’s troubles into the singles round with four Lady Tigers losing their first set.
“We created a few holes for ourselves that we really had to dig our way out of,” said coach Julia Sell. “We weren’t playing our game styles. We weren’t being very disciplined, very impatient and sloppy.”
The Lady Tigers’ comeback started with Taylor’s defeat of NC State’s Mancera 6-3, 6-0, and sophomore Ryann Foster defeating Stenta 6-3, 6-4.
Despite dropping her first set, LSU freshman Jessica Golovin rallied to a win against freshman Bianca Moldovan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, turning the tide of the match for the Lady Tigers.
“I knew this was a match I had to pull out[for us to win],” said Golovin. “She started off the better player but I think I finished the match strong.”
Golovins wasn’t the only Lady Tiger to earn a win after dropping her first set.
Both junior Joana Vale Costa and junior Abby Owens bounced back after sluggish starts. Costa defeated junior Martina Frantova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, and Owens took down freshman Amanda Rebol 3-6, 7-6, 6-0.
“Our energy was down, but we kept improving and changing the things we did wrong,” said Van Costa. “Personally, I had to keep trying, and change my game plan because she was playing unbelievable,”
The Lady Tigers continue a busy weekend at home with a doubleheader against Maryland and South Alabama on Sunday.
“Now we need to take care of our bodies,” said Van Costa “We’ve been playing every weekend so with two more matches on Sunday we just have to keep working.”
The Lady Tigers will resume play against Maryland at 11 a.m. Sunday at the LSU Tennis Complex and then against South Alabama at 4 p.m.
You can reach Justin Talbot on Twitter @JT15_TDR