No. 30 MSU Women’s Tennis Edged 4-3 By No. 39 LSU In SEC Championship

Thursday, April 19

Knoxville, Tenn.

8:00 AM

Mississippi State

LSU

Junior Anastasia Rentouli was able to win both of her doubles and singles matches Thursday against LSU.

No. 30 MSU Women’s Tennis Edged 4-3 By No. 39 LSU In SEC Championship

April 19, 2018 | Women's Tennis

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 30th-ranked and seventh-seeded Mississippi State women's tennis team (15-10) could not hold off a rally by 39th-ranked and 10th-seeded LSU (15-9) Thursday morning, falling 4-3 to the Tigers at Tennessee's Barksdale Stadium in the second round of the 2018 SEC Championship.

The Bulldogs came out dominant in doubles to start the morning. On court 3, MSU's Sara Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli made quick work of the Tiger pair of Ashton Rabalais and Luba Vasilyuk 6-1. The 72nd-ranked Bulldog duo of Madison Harrison and Khrystyna Vozniak upended LSU's 37th-ranked Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson 6-2 at No. 1 to clinch the doubles point and give MSU an early 1-0 lead.

The Tigers would not go down without a fight, splitting the opening sets evenly with the Bulldogs and forcing a third set on court 1.

First off the courts at the No. 6 position, MSU's Vozniak dominated Tiger Rabalais, 6-1, 6-0, extending the Maroon & White lead to 2-0. On court 4, the Bulldogs' Rentouli posted her own 6-1, 6-0 triumph against LSU's Johnson to establish a 3-0 lead for MSU.

But LSU roared back, starting a four-match rally on court 3, as No. 78 Golovin held off MSU's Adaloglou 6-1, 6-3. Following on court 5, Tiger Vasilyuk completed a 6-2, 6-1, victory over MSU's Lizariturry. Picking up the Tigers' final straight-set triumph, LSU's No. 112 Foster downed MSU's Braun 6-4, 6-0 on court 2.

With all eyes on court 1, LSU's No. 80 Richardson completed a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory against MSU's Harrison to clinch the 4-3 victory for the Tigers.


Next Up For MSU…

The Bulldogs now wait to see where they will continue postseason play in the 2018 NCAA Team Championship. The selection show for this year's national championship field will be held Tuesday, May 1, and will be streamed live on NCAA.com. State is expected to receive an NCAA bid for a school-record fourth consecutive season and the eighth time in school history overall.

For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

No. 39 LSU 4, No. 30 Mississippi State 3
Barksdale Tennis Stadium
Knoxville, Tenn.
April 19, 2018

Doubles
1. No. 72 Madison Harrison/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. No. 37 Eden Richardson/Jessica Golovin (LSU) 6-2
2. Ryann Foster/Kennan Johnson (LSU) vs. Magda Adaloglou/Janina Braun (MSU) 4-2 (susp.)
3. Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Ashton Rabalais/Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles
1. No. 80 Eden Richardson (LSU) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 112 Ryann Foster (LSU) def. Janina Braun (MSU) 6-4, 6-0
3. No. 78 Jessica Golovin (LSU) def. Magda Adaloglou (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Kennan Johnson (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Luba Vasilyuk (LSU) def. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. Ashton Rabalais (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1