The No. 14 Auburn women's tennis team defeated LSU, 7-0, extending the team's program-record winning streak to 13 matches.
The win moves Auburn's record to 13-1 (3-0 SEC). The 3-0 conference record is Auburn's best start in SEC play since it started 6-0 in 1993.
Auburn's pairing of junior Jackie Kasler and sophomore Emily Flickinger took down LSU's Keri Frankenberger and Ebie Wilson 8-3, and Auburn secured the doubles point when senior Paulina Schippers and sophomore Jen Pfeifler beat Kaitlyn Burns and Ella Taylor 8-4.
"That's one of the things we work on a lot," head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner said. "I think we're known for our doubles. We came out a little flatter than normal. We kind of got outselves together and fought back, and I was really proud of that."
Senior Plamena Kurteva opened singles play with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Ebie Wilson, extending Auburn's lead to 2-0.
Freshman Pleun Burgmans, ranked No. 70 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's singles rankings, moved Auburn's lead to 3-0 with a 7-6, 6-0 victory over Kaitlin Burns.
"I just didn't start really well," Burgmans said. "I started pushing and playing my game. The first set, I was tight. I won the first set so I could play free of pressure."
Auburn clinched the win when senior Michala Kucharova defeated Mary Jeremiah 6-4, 6-4.
Emily Flickinger kept the sweep in tact with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Ella Taylor to make the score 5-0.
"In singles, I played the girl before. I knew it was going to be tough," Flickinger said. "I just stayed in there mentally in the first set and played really well in the second set and was able to win."
After LSU head coach Julia Sell pulled Keri Frankenberger from her match with Jen Pfeifler on Court 5, resulting in a win by retirement, Jackie Kasler won a 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 marathon against Ariel Morton to put the exclamation point on a 7-0 Auburn victory.
The sweep was Auburn's first 7-0 victory over LSU in school history.
Auburn looks to keep its winning streak alive when it hosts Arkansas Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. at Yarbrough Tennis Center.
"I think we just go at it one match at a time," Meisner said. "We don't put too much pressure on ourselves. We're still fighting like we're 71 in the country. We're always hungry. We don't think about what we're ranked right now or anything like that."
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