Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
LSU
#60 Wake Forest Stuns #37 LSU, 4-3
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Down match point three times in her singles match, Xue Zhang battled back to win in her third set tiebreaker as the No. 60-ranked Wake Forest women's tennis team used a comeback to stun the No. 37-ranked LSU Tigers 4-3 on Friday afternoon at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
In addition to Zhang's clutch performance, Kimmy Guerin came up with a huge win at No. 1 singles upsetting ITA No. 29-ranked singles player Joana Vale Costa 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, as a part of Wake Forest's comeback against the Tigers.
After LSU won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, #87 Skylar Kuykendall topped Andrea Retolaza Andrade 6-0, 1-6, 6-0 to give the visiting Tigers a 2-0 advantage. All seven singles matches played out a third full set since the match hadn't been decided, setting up for an exciting finish.
Samantha Asch got the Deacons on the board defeating Abigail Owens 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to cut into the Tigers lead 2-1 with four singles matches remaining. Ella Taylor then defeated Luisa Fernandez 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 5 singles to give the LSU Tigers a 3-1 lead and a chance to clinch the match.
The Demon Deacons would then begin mounting a furious three-point comeback trailing 3-1 in the match and the Tigers having a chance to clinch. Guerin's upset win over Costa gave Wake Forest new life cutting the deficit, 3-2. With Guerin leading 5-3 in the third set, Costa battled back to win two straight points and tie the set 5-5, but Wake Forest's top singles player fought out two straight of her own to win the match.
After the conclusion of Guerin's match, No. 6 singles player Kasey Gardiner and No. 2 singles player Zhang were both tied in their third sets 5-5 and 6-6 respectively. As Zhang began her seven-point tiebreak against Noel Scott, Kasey Gardiner locked down and won two points easily to tie the match 3-3, leaving Zhang with a chance to win the match.
The tiebreak on the second court was tight. Zhang had previously been down 5-4 in her third set but battle back to tie it 6-6 and send it to a tiebreak. She then found herself down match point twice at 6-5 and 7-6 during the tiebreak. Undaunted, she stayed alive on an unforced error by Scott during the first match point and hitting a solid backhand shot into the left corner of the court the second life line.
Zhang came out victorious winning the match against Scott 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, with a 10-8 win in the tiebreak and clinching the 4-3 victory for Wake Forest over LSU.
The Demon Deacons are back in action at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex next Sunday, February 22, with a doubleheader that begins with their ACC opener against Clemson at noon. The second match of the doubleheader will be against non-conference foe East Carolina at 4:30 p.m.
#60 Wake Forest 4, #37 LSU 3
Singles:
1. Kimmy Guerin (WF) def. #29 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
2. Xue Zhang (WF) def. Noel Scott (LSU) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
3. #87 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. Andrea Retolaza (WF) 6-0, 1-6, 6-0
4. Samantha Asch (WF) def. Abigail Owens (LSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Ella Taylor (LSU) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6. Kasey Gardiner (WF) def. Skylar Holloway (LSU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Doubles:
1. Noel Scott/Joana Vale Costa (LSU) def. Kasey Gardiner/Luisa Fernandez (WF) 6-2
2. #60 Abigail Owens/Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. Kimmy Guerin/Samantha Asch (WF) 6-1
3. Xue Zhang/Karen Forman (WF) vs. Ella Taylor/Skylar Holloway (LSU) 5-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
LSU 5-2, 0-0 SEC; National ranking #37
Wake Forest 8-2, 0-0 ACC; National ranking #60
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,4,5,1,6,2)
Time of Match-3:00 Attendance-155
Players Mentioned
