SALT LAKE CITY – The LSU Lady Tigers tennis team won five singles and one doubles match on day one of play at the Utah Fall Invitational inside the Eccles Tennis Center on the Utah campus Friday.
Seniors Whitney Wolf and Olivia Howlett both reached the semifinals of the A singles bracket.
Wolf, the no. 52 ranked player in the nation, defeated Utah’s Lucia Kovarcikova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round and then beat Wyoming’s Alexandra Kovacs 6-3, 6-3.
Wolf has now won seven of her last eight matches, including a semifinal performance at the ITA Southern Regional two weeks ago.
Howlett took down Jessica Parizher of Wyoming 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 before she beat Utah’s Natasha Smith 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
Howlett teamed up with sophomore Yvette Vlaar to defeat Boise State’s Sandy Vo and Morgan Basil to reach the doubles second round.
Freshman Rebecca Bodine won her first round match in the B singles over Laura Porras of Idaho State 6-3, 6-1. She fell in the second round to Desiree Tran of BYU 6-5, 6-2.
Vlaar also won her first round B singles match over Christa Gecheva of Wyoming 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Vlaar lost to BYU’s Aubrey Paul out 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 in the second round.
“I was really pleased with how we played,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “The whole purpose of coming to this tournament was to get a chance to play indoors. I liked the way we adjusted to the altitude and the indoor conditions. We played some really solid tennis but it was just one day. We need to keep it up the next few days. It was a good start.”
Saturday’s draws are currently unavailable.
For the latest information on the women's tennis team, follow the Lady Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten and on www.facebook.com/lsuwten.
Utah Fall Invitational, Day One Results
Doubles First Round
Howlett/Vlaar (LSU) def. Vo/Basil (BSU) 9-8 (8-3).
Nemcova/Kovacs (Wyo) def. Bodine/Burns (LSU) 8-3.
Singles A First Round
Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (Utah) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Danielle Flores (Utah) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU) 6-0, 6-4.
Olivia Howlett (LSU) vs. Jessica Parizher (Wyo) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Singles B First Round
Rebecca Bodine (LSU) def. Laura Porras (Idaho St.) 6-3, 6-1.
Yvette Vlaar (LSU) def. Christa Gecheva (Wyo) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.
Morgan Basil (BSU) def. Keri Frankenberger (LSU) 6-3, 6-4.
Singles A Second Round
Olivia Howlett (LSU) def. Natasha Smith (Utah) 6-2, 6-3.
Whitney Wolf (LSU) def. Alexandra Kovacs (Wyo) 6-3, 6-3.
Singles B Second Round
Aubrey Paul (BYU) def. Yvette Vlaar (LSU) 7-5, 6-3.
Desiree Tran (BYU) def. Rebecca Bodine (LSU) 6-5, 6-2.
