Sunday, April 2
Starkville
1:00 PM
Mississippi State
6
vs
1
LSU
Jasmine Lee earned two ranked wins over LSU in the 6-1 Senior Day victory.
Photo by: John R. Cade
No. 24 MSU Hammers No. 19 LSU In Home Finale, 6-1
April 02, 2017 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The 24th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (13-5, 6-4 SEC) delivered a Senior Day win for All-American Jasmine Lee on Sunday – with Lee providing two big wins herself to aid in the cause - as the Maroon and White blew past 19th-ranked LSU (12-6, 5-3 SEC) to cap an impressive weekend with a 6-1 victory.
The victory in MSU's regular season home finale was coupled with the Bulldogs' 4-1 triumph over No. 25 Texas A&M on Friday. Sunday's victory was also State's fifth in its last six SEC matches, the last four wins coming over top 25 foes and the only set back in that stretch at No. 3 Georgia.
"A lot of things went right for us today," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "We've played outstanding this weekend on a whole. Texas A&M and LSU are two very good teams and our team stepped up big time."
The Bulldogs have now defeated the Tigers in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2005. The win also marked MSU's largest margin of victory over a top 20 opponent in program history.
Sunday's match began with a highly contested doubles session, as both teams battled it out to the finish. MSU's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry secured State's first doubles result of the afternoon, downing LSU's Jessica Golovin and Skylar Holloway, 6-1 at the No. 3 position. The Bulldog pair of Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak dropped a tough contest to Tigers Jade Lewis and Becca Weissmann on court 2, falling 6-3.
Despite trailing 4-1 in the deciding doubles match, Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux, ranked 11th nationally as a duo, would claw back into their match on court 1 as the Bulldog pair stormed back to rattle off five-straight games and clinch the doubles point for MSU. The 6-4 win over No. 20 Ryann Foster and Joana Valle Costa marked Lee and Rioux's eighth ranked victory of the season.
"We started out slow in doubles play, but then every court kind of settled in except for court one," Greenan said. "We got a couple of lucky breaks there to get back in it, but I want to give Jasmine and Lisa credit for being ready to take advantage of those opportunities. They showed a lot of fight to get that big win."
The Bulldogs would carry the momentum from the rally in doubles into singles action as MSU would claim four of the six first sets from LSU. MSU's Lee was the biggest recipient of that spark as the senior Bulldog cruised past LSU's 30th-ranked Jade Lewis 6-2, 6-0 following an emotional Senior Day recognition between doubles and singles play.
"When Jasmine dials it in, the girl on the other side of the court is in trouble," Greenan said of Lee. "She looked a little slow today due to all the emotion that goes into a Senior Day, but she really dialed it in and beat a good player convincingly."
The two-time, first-team All-SEC selection Lee is now on a six-match win streak following her ninth ranked singles victory of the season.
With MSU leading 2-0, the Bulldogs would get back-to-back straight-set wins from Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli to clinch the victory. Lizariturry won 6-3, 6-3 over Tiger Skylar Holloway at No. 6 for a 3-0 Bulldog advantage. Rentouli then grinded out a 6-4, 6-4 triumph against LSU's Golovin on court 4 for the match-clinching point.
The remaining matches were played out after the clinch. On court 5, State's Vozniak, fighting back from a one-set deficit, grabbed a win when LSU's Weissmann was forced to retire due to injury at 4-6, 5-4.
The Bulldogs would split the final two remaining matches as MSU capped a convincing 6-1 win over LSU to close out the home schedule. Harrison would earn a ranked win against LSU's No. 105 Foster at the No. 3 spot, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(8), while Rioux went toe-to-toe with LSU's No. 86 Costa, but ultimately fell to her Tiger foe, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.
"We are really peaking at the right time," Greenan said of MSU's recent success. "Again, a lot of things had to go our way for our girls to get healthy and start believing in themselves more. We are gaining confidence with every match and our girls are working their tails off.
"Every win is huge, it feels good to be sitting at 6-4 in the SEC," Greenan said. "We're going into the final stretch of the SEC season with a lot of confidence and we have a laser focus on our last three matches."
Up Next
The Bulldogs now pack their bags for the road as MSU travels to No. 13 South Carolina, No. 1 Florida and No. 28 Ole Miss in its next three matches to close out the 2017 regular season.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 24 Mississippi State 6, No. 19 LSU 1
April 2, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 11 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 20 Ryann Foster/Joana Valle Costa (LSU) 6-4
2. Jade Lewis/Becca Weissmann (LSU) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-3
3. Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Jessica Golovin/Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-1
Order of match finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. No. 32 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 30 Jade Lewis (LSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 86 Joana Valle Costa (LSU) def. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
3. Madison Harrison (MSU) def. No. 105 Ryann Foster (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(8)
4. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Jessica Golovin (LSU) 6-4, 6-4*
5. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. Becca Weissmann (LSU) 4-6, 5-4 (ret.)
6. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
Order of match finish: 1,6,4,5,3, 2
* - Match-clinching win
The victory in MSU's regular season home finale was coupled with the Bulldogs' 4-1 triumph over No. 25 Texas A&M on Friday. Sunday's victory was also State's fifth in its last six SEC matches, the last four wins coming over top 25 foes and the only set back in that stretch at No. 3 Georgia.
"A lot of things went right for us today," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "We've played outstanding this weekend on a whole. Texas A&M and LSU are two very good teams and our team stepped up big time."
The Bulldogs have now defeated the Tigers in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2005. The win also marked MSU's largest margin of victory over a top 20 opponent in program history.
Sunday's match began with a highly contested doubles session, as both teams battled it out to the finish. MSU's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry secured State's first doubles result of the afternoon, downing LSU's Jessica Golovin and Skylar Holloway, 6-1 at the No. 3 position. The Bulldog pair of Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak dropped a tough contest to Tigers Jade Lewis and Becca Weissmann on court 2, falling 6-3.
Despite trailing 4-1 in the deciding doubles match, Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux, ranked 11th nationally as a duo, would claw back into their match on court 1 as the Bulldog pair stormed back to rattle off five-straight games and clinch the doubles point for MSU. The 6-4 win over No. 20 Ryann Foster and Joana Valle Costa marked Lee and Rioux's eighth ranked victory of the season.
"We started out slow in doubles play, but then every court kind of settled in except for court one," Greenan said. "We got a couple of lucky breaks there to get back in it, but I want to give Jasmine and Lisa credit for being ready to take advantage of those opportunities. They showed a lot of fight to get that big win."
The Bulldogs would carry the momentum from the rally in doubles into singles action as MSU would claim four of the six first sets from LSU. MSU's Lee was the biggest recipient of that spark as the senior Bulldog cruised past LSU's 30th-ranked Jade Lewis 6-2, 6-0 following an emotional Senior Day recognition between doubles and singles play.
"When Jasmine dials it in, the girl on the other side of the court is in trouble," Greenan said of Lee. "She looked a little slow today due to all the emotion that goes into a Senior Day, but she really dialed it in and beat a good player convincingly."
The two-time, first-team All-SEC selection Lee is now on a six-match win streak following her ninth ranked singles victory of the season.
With MSU leading 2-0, the Bulldogs would get back-to-back straight-set wins from Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli to clinch the victory. Lizariturry won 6-3, 6-3 over Tiger Skylar Holloway at No. 6 for a 3-0 Bulldog advantage. Rentouli then grinded out a 6-4, 6-4 triumph against LSU's Golovin on court 4 for the match-clinching point.
The remaining matches were played out after the clinch. On court 5, State's Vozniak, fighting back from a one-set deficit, grabbed a win when LSU's Weissmann was forced to retire due to injury at 4-6, 5-4.
The Bulldogs would split the final two remaining matches as MSU capped a convincing 6-1 win over LSU to close out the home schedule. Harrison would earn a ranked win against LSU's No. 105 Foster at the No. 3 spot, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(8), while Rioux went toe-to-toe with LSU's No. 86 Costa, but ultimately fell to her Tiger foe, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.
"We are really peaking at the right time," Greenan said of MSU's recent success. "Again, a lot of things had to go our way for our girls to get healthy and start believing in themselves more. We are gaining confidence with every match and our girls are working their tails off.
"Every win is huge, it feels good to be sitting at 6-4 in the SEC," Greenan said. "We're going into the final stretch of the SEC season with a lot of confidence and we have a laser focus on our last three matches."
Up Next
The Bulldogs now pack their bags for the road as MSU travels to No. 13 South Carolina, No. 1 Florida and No. 28 Ole Miss in its next three matches to close out the 2017 regular season.
Additional Notes
- MSU has defeated LSU in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2005
- The 6-1 win was MSU's largest margin of victory over a top-20 foe in program history
- The Bulldogs finished the 2017 regular season 10-1 at home
- MSU is now 11-0 this season when winning the doubles point
- The Bulldogs have earned six ranked wins this season
- All six wins have come in SEC play
- No. 32 Jasmine Lee has won her last six matches in singles action
- Lee now has 39 career ranked wins in singles action
- The duo of Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux are now 21-5 in doubles this season
- Anastasia Rentouli has clinched five matches for MSU this year
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 24 Mississippi State 6, No. 19 LSU 1
April 2, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 11 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 20 Ryann Foster/Joana Valle Costa (LSU) 6-4
2. Jade Lewis/Becca Weissmann (LSU) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-3
3. Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Jessica Golovin/Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-1
Order of match finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. No. 32 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 30 Jade Lewis (LSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 86 Joana Valle Costa (LSU) def. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
3. Madison Harrison (MSU) def. No. 105 Ryann Foster (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(8)
4. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Jessica Golovin (LSU) 6-4, 6-4*
5. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. Becca Weissmann (LSU) 4-6, 5-4 (ret.)
6. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
Order of match finish: 1,6,4,5,3, 2
* - Match-clinching win
Players Mentioned
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