BATON ROUGE — The 12th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to five-straight matches Sunday with a 7-0 victory over South Carolina. The Tigers have swept their previous three opponents.
“We had some guys play some very good tennis today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “In doubles, Tom Hand and Ed Rubin came out and did a great job for us. They set the tone for our doubles teams and allowed us to win the point.”
Seniors Tom Hand and Ed Rubin won in No. 2 doubles against South Carolina’s duo of Olof Akesson and Guillame Legat, 8-4, to even the doubles matches at one apiece.
Earlier the Gamecocks’ No. 1 doubles team comprised of Rob Steckler and Jerome Jourdan was victorious over LSU’s Michal Chmela and Daniel Kiernan, 8-5.
The doubles point was then decided on court No. 3 where the Tigers’ combination of sophomore Jesse Smatt and junior Ajay Ramaswami came from behind to beat USC’s David Nelson and Juan Gamboa, 9-7.
With the early 1-0 lead, LSU continued to roll in singles play. The Tigers won on every court, and only two of LSU’s players needed three sets for the victory.
On court No. 1, the Tigers’ Chmela defeated Legat in a third set tiebreaker, 9-7, to decide the match. Legat won the first set, 7-5, and Chmela won the second set, 6-3. Rubin, LSU’s No. 6 player, also needed three sets for the victory. He edged out South Carolina’s Akesson, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3).
The Tigers’ Ramaswami and Kiernan picked up big wins for LSU on courts No. 3 and No. 4. Ramaswami defeated Gamboa on court No. 3, 6-2, 7-5, for his 22nd win of the season, while Kiernan won on court No. 4, 6-4, 6-4, over the Gamecocks’ Juan Gamboa.
“In singles, Dan (Kiernan) really stepped up and played a good match today.” He beat a great player in Gamboa, and Ajay (Ramaswami) also come through with a big win by beating Jourdan in straight sets,” Brown said.
Smatt was the first singles player to win for the Tigers. He outplayed USC’s Seth Rose on court No. 5, 6-3, 6-3. After the final outcome of the match was decided on court No. 4, Hand, LSU’s senior leader, finished off Steckley, 6-3, 6-3, in No. 2 singles.
The 12th-ranked LSU Fighting Tigers will next be in action March 29, as they travel to Oxford, Miss., to face the Ole Miss Rebels. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
#12 LSU 7, SOUTH CAROLINA 0
Baton Rouge, La.
March 26, 2000
SINGLES
No. 1 – Michal Chmela (LSU) def. Guillaume Legat (USC), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(9-7).
No. 2 – Tom Hand (LSU) def. Rob Steckley (USC), 6-3, 6-3.
No. 3 – Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. Jerome Jourdon (USC), 6-2, 7-5.
No. 4 – Daniel Kiernan (LSU) def. Juan Gamboa (USC), 6-4, 6-4*
No. 5 – Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Seth Rose (USC), 6-3, 6-2.
No. 6 – Ed Rubin (LSU) def. Olof Akesson USC), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3).
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Chmela/Kiernan (LSU) def. Steckley/Jourdon (USC), 8-5.
No. 2 – Hand/Rubin (LSU) def. Akesson/Legat (USC), 8-4.
No. 3 – Smatt/Ramaswami (LSU) def. David Nelson/Gamboa (USC), 9-7.
RECORDS: LSU 13-2, 4-1.
SOUTH CAROLINA 4-7, 0-6.
COMMENTS: There was an hour-long rain delay prior to the match. The match was scheduled to begin at noon, but started at 1:00 p.m. The match was decided at No. 4 singles where Daniel Kiernan defeated Juan Gamboa.