PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Steve Colquitt - Georgia Sports Communications)

ATHENS, Ga.—University of Hawai'i women's tennis player Petra Melounova's record-setting season came to close, falling to LSU's 46-rainked Joana Valle Costa in the 2017 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships' second round.  Valle Costa defeated Melounova, who was ranked No. 70, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday morning at the McWhorter Courts in the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
 
Melounova started the match strong, taking an early 2-0 lead. But then she and Valle Costa started to break each other's serve. Melounova held a 3-2 lead before Valle Costa broke her for the second time and then held her serve to tie the first set at 3-3. Valle Costa then won the next six-straight games to win the first set 6-3 and subsequently take a 3-0 lead in the second set.
 
With Valle Costa leading 2-0 in the second set, play was suspended due to a 35-minute rain delay. When action resumed Valle Costa extended her lead to 3-0. Melounova kept trying to battle as she held her serve twice to cut her deficit in half to 4-2. But the LSU Tiger then won the next two to win the second set and the match, 6-2. Valle Costa, who is a senior, will advance to the Round of 16 and will face the winner of the Melissa Lord (Stanford) vs. Belinda Woodcock (Florida) match.
 
Melounova was one of just seven freshmen to advance to the second round of this year's NCAA tournament. Yesterday, when she upset 16^th-ranked Rachel Pierson (Texas A&M), she became the first Rainbow Wahine to ever win a match at the NCAA tournament and the first Big West Player to win an NCAA match since 1998 when Long Beach State's Jing Chen accomplished the feat. Earlier this spring, Melounova became the first UH player and third player in conference history to be named both Big West Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season. She was also voted to the all-conference first team in both singles and doubles. She finished the spring season with a 14-2 record.