Alabama
LSU
Women's Tennis Falls in SEC Tournament to LSU
4/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 64 ranked women's tennis team (10-12, 3-8 SEC) dropped a 4-2 decision to 74th-ranked LSU (10-14, 4-7 SEC) on Thursday in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Crimson Tide cruised through the doubles point, however the Tigers were able to pick up four singles wins for the victory.
"I want to commend LSU on a great match today," head coach Jenny Mainz said. "They did a great job of bouncing back after doubles. To their credit, they played very well and took the match. For us, Meritt Emery had a very gutsy day overall. She has really shown a lot of improvement, and showed a lot of promise. Alexa Guarachi did a great job of coming out ready to play and getting us on the board. She really took care of business."
Alabama had little trouble taking the doubles point. The 17th-ranked duo of freshman Alexa Guarachi and sophomore Courtney McLane continued their solid play, breezing past No. 82 sophomore Whitney Wolf and freshman Keri Frankenberger 8-1 on court one. Guarachi and McLane broke to open the match on their way to collecting three breaks of serve.
The Tide clinched the doubles point when it took the matchup at the No. 2 position. Freshman Antonia Foehse and senior Alice Tunaru claimed the opening break of serve over freshman Kaitlin Burns and senior Hannah Robinson at 3-2, and then broke again at 6-3 to put the match out of reach. On court three, the duos traded early breaks, but things remained on serve the rest of the way. Senior Paulina Bigos and junior Meritt Emery held a slim 4-3 advantage over LSU's senior Nicole Kantor and freshman Ebie Wilson when play was halted.
The Tigers stormed back in singles play, taking four of the six first sets. LSU took the first singles match completed, as Robinson took care of Tunaru 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot. Tunaru took a brief 2-1 lead in the second, but Robinson quickly regained control and ran away with the set. Alabama answered via a 6-0, 6-3 win on court two by Guarachi over Burns. The freshman, ranked No. 57 nationally in singles, won the first nine games of the match. However, Burns broke back in the second, eventually tying the score at 3-3. Guarachi stepped up her play the rest of the match, taking the final three games to win the match.
The Tigers countered by taking the next two matches off the court. On court five, Wilson was simply too much for Bigos to handle. Wilson took 4-1 leads in both sets, never letting Bigos find her groove. At the No. 1 spot, Wolf cruised to an easy 6-2 first set victory over McLane, but the two players were locked in a tight one in the second. McLane broke early for a 2-0 lead, but Wolf immediately broke back. Wolf gained another break at 3-3, seemingly icing the match. McLane would not let the match slip away, breaking back in the next game. The players exchanged holds before Wolf ripped a few returns to break at 5-5. She easily served out the win from there, putting LSU in front 3-2.
The Tigers clinched the win thanks to Frankenberger on court four, as she was able to grind out a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Foehse. The first set was an absolute battle, as the two players broke serve once early on. The set was on serve the rest of the way until 5-5, when Frankenberger broke for a chance to serve for the match. That game was a marathon, but it was the LSU freshman who was finally able to hold and take the set. The second set started off tight as well, but Frankenberger eventually took a 5-2 lead with two breaks in hand.
The match at the No. 3 position spot was still going on when play was stopped. Emery took the first set easily 6-1 and appeared to be settling in for an easy match, but Kantor had other plans. Kantor broke at 4-3 in the second, but could not capitalize when she served for the set in the next game. Emery forced the set to 5-5, but it was Kantor who would pick up a break in the next game, successfully serving out a 7-5, second-set win. Kantor broke first in the final set, taking a 2-0 advantage, but Emery broke right back. The final set stood at 2-1 in favor of Kantor when Frankenberger clinched for LSU.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 17 McLane/Guarachi (UA) def. No. 82 Wolf/Frankenberger (LSU) 8-1
2. Tunaru/Foehse (UA) def. Robinson/Burns (LSU) 8-3
3. Bigos/Emery (UA) vs. Kantor/Wilson (LSU) 4-3, unf.
Order of Finish: 1,2
Singles
1. Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 57 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 6-0, 6-3
3. Meritt Emery (UA) vs. Nicole Kantor (LSU) 6-1, 5-7, 1-2, unf.
4. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) def. Antonia Foehse (UA) 7-5, 6-2
5. Ebie Wilson (LSU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-1, 6-2
6. Hannah Robinson (LSU) def. Alice Tunaru (UA) 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6,2,5,1,4*
Players Mentioned
