BATON ROUGE — The 12th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team defeated the Tulane Green Wave Friday to pick up its second-straight victory in which the opposition was held scoreless.
The Tigers swept both Tulane (Friday) and Alabama (Wednesday) by the score of 7-0.
“The team came up with another solid performance throughout our lineup today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “All three of our doubles teams played well, and so did our singles players. John Gray Pou did an outstanding job filling in for Ed (Rubin) on court No. 6 by playing a great match for us.”
The win improved LSU to an overall record of 12-2 on the season, while Tulane dropped its record to 10-8.
The Tigers won the doubles point with victories on all three doubles courts. Michal Chmela and Daniel Kiernan teamed up to defeat Tulane’s Esat Tanik and Mikko Viljanen on court No. 1, 8-5.
LSU’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams were both victorious over their Tulane counterparts by the score of 8-2. On court No. 2, LSU seniors Tom Hand and Ed Rubin beat Chris Ortner and Dennis Lundberg, while Jessie Smatt and Ajay Ramaswami defeated Tulane’s Derya Rose and Jon Monk on court No. 3.
The Tigers also dominated the singles round Friday afternoon by winning on every court. Smatt, LSU’s sophomore No. 5 singles player and emotional leader, clinched the victory over Tulane with a 6-3, 7-5 win against Mattias Westerberg.
John Gray Pou, the freshman Tiger from Shreveport, La., kept his undefeated streak alive in dual matches this season by defeated Tulane’s Rose on court No. 6. Pou won two important tiebreakers in the match to pull out the victory, 7-6(7), 7-6(4).
In No. 1 singles, LSU’s Chmela defeated Lundberg, 6-1, 6-2, to improve his overall record to 11-7 on the season, while Hand picked up his 103rd career victory as a Tiger on court No. 2. He outhit Tulane’s Viljanen.
In No. 3 singles, Ramaswami won his 21st match of the season by outplaying Ortner of Tulane. The score in the match was 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.
With the outcome of the match already decided, LSU’s Kiernan finished off the Green Wave’s Tanik, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 at the No. 4 spot.
LSU will next face South Carolina Sunday at noon.
#12 LSU 7, TULANE 0
Baton Rouge, La.
March 24, 2000
SINGLES
No. 1 – Michal Chmela (LSU) def. Dennis Lundberg (TU), 6-1, 6-2.
No. 2 – Tom Hand (LSU) def. Mikko Viljanen (TU), 7-5, 6-1.
No. 3 – Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. Chris Ortner (TU), 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.
No. 4 – Daniel Kiernan (LSU) def. Esat Tanik (TU), 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4.
No. 5 – Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Mattias Westerberg (TU), 6-3, 7-5.*
No. 6 – John Gray Pou (LSU) def. Derya Rose (TU), 7-6(7), 7-6(4).
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Chmela/Kiernan (LSU) def. Rose/Jon Monk (TU), 8-5.
No. 2 – Hand/Rubin (LSU) def. Ortner/Lundberg (TU), 8-2.
No. 3 – Smatt/Ramaswami (LSU) def. Tanik/Viljanen (TU), 8-2.
RECORDS: LSU 12-2
TULANE 10-8