Lady Bulldog Netters Fall 5-2 To LSU As Tigers Go On To First SEC Victory
STARKVILLE, Miss. ?€“ Mississippi State fell to the No. 57 Lady Tigers of LSU Sunday to close out the weekend at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The loss snaps a two-match winning streak by State against the Bayou Bengals.
The Lady Bulldogs went up early on LSU with the win in doubles, but could not hold up during the singles play. The duo of Elna de Villiers and Martina Banikova struck first with their win on court one over Tiffany Tucker and Mykala Hedberg in a 6-3 fashion. Following their win was Anastasia Kugakolova and Daniela Juskova on No. 3 as they put out Daysi Espinal and Lauren Seaman 8-5 to claim the doubles.
Senior Anastasia Kugakolova quickly defeated Lady Tiger Mykala Hedberg at the top spot to start singles play. The St. Petersburg, Russia native took charge early and never looked back as she went on to win her match-up 6-2, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs their only singles wins.
Despite the strong play by Kugakolova, the Bulldogs saw the early lead dwindle as they fell in the next three courts to finish. At the No. 5 spot, de Villiers took the first set against Camila Caliari 7-5, but fell in the last two sets of the match at 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the Tigers first SEC win.
At the No. 2 spot sophomore Renee Joseph held in with LSU's Marina Chiarelli in a match filled with tie-breakers in the first two sets with each of them splitting the first two sets in tie breakers. Chiarelli claimed the third set 6-3.
Coach Tracy Lane's squad will travel next weekend to Georgia (April 7) and Tennessee (April 9) looking to bounce back from a five-match losing streak in SEC play. The MSU-UGA match is set for 3 p.m. CT. Doubles
1. Elna de Villiers/Martina Banikova (MSU) def. Tiffany Tucker/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 8-6
2. Marina Chiarelli/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Polina Kokoulina/ Renee Joseph (MSU) 8-6
3. Anastasia Kugakolova/Daniela Juskova (MSU) def. Daysi Espinal/Lauren Seaman (LSU) 8-5
Singles
1. Anastasia Kugakolova (MSU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Renee Joseph (MSU) 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-3
3. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Marina Banikova (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Polina Kokoulina (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 *
6. Daysi Espinal (LSU) def. Tatiana Feit (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
The Lady Bulldogs went up early on LSU with the win in doubles, but could not hold up during the singles play. The duo of Elna de Villiers and Martina Banikova struck first with their win on court one over Tiffany Tucker and Mykala Hedberg in a 6-3 fashion. Following their win was Anastasia Kugakolova and Daniela Juskova on No. 3 as they put out Daysi Espinal and Lauren Seaman 8-5 to claim the doubles.
Senior Anastasia Kugakolova quickly defeated Lady Tiger Mykala Hedberg at the top spot to start singles play. The St. Petersburg, Russia native took charge early and never looked back as she went on to win her match-up 6-2, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs their only singles wins.
Despite the strong play by Kugakolova, the Bulldogs saw the early lead dwindle as they fell in the next three courts to finish. At the No. 5 spot, de Villiers took the first set against Camila Caliari 7-5, but fell in the last two sets of the match at 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the Tigers first SEC win.
At the No. 2 spot sophomore Renee Joseph held in with LSU's Marina Chiarelli in a match filled with tie-breakers in the first two sets with each of them splitting the first two sets in tie breakers. Chiarelli claimed the third set 6-3.
Coach Tracy Lane's squad will travel next weekend to Georgia (April 7) and Tennessee (April 9) looking to bounce back from a five-match losing streak in SEC play. The MSU-UGA match is set for 3 p.m. CT. Doubles
1. Elna de Villiers/Martina Banikova (MSU) def. Tiffany Tucker/Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 8-6
2. Marina Chiarelli/Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Polina Kokoulina/ Renee Joseph (MSU) 8-6
3. Anastasia Kugakolova/Daniela Juskova (MSU) def. Daysi Espinal/Lauren Seaman (LSU) 8-5
Singles
1. Anastasia Kugakolova (MSU) def. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Renee Joseph (MSU) 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-3
3. Anastasiya Dubova (LSU) def. Marina Banikova (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) def. Polina Kokoulina (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
5. Camila Caliari (LSU) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 *
6. Daysi Espinal (LSU) def. Tatiana Feit (MSU) 7-5, 6-4