STARKVILLE, Miss. — The 17th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team was outmatched by the No. 18 Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday, as the Tigers dropped their Southeastern Conference opener, 5-2, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre here in Starkville, Miss.
LSU swept the doubles round on Sunday to take an early 1-0 lead against Mississippi State as the 28th-ranked combination of Daniel Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka finished the sweep by edging out the Bulldogs’ pair of Marco Baron and David Ruiz, 8-6, on court No. 1.
The Tigers’ No. 2 doubles team comprised of Sanjin Sadovich and Jesse Smatt defeated Mississippi State’s Romain Ambert and Luiz Carvalho, 8-4, while LSU’s Bryan Fisher and Ajay Ramaswami clinched the doubles point on court No. 3 with an 8-6 win over the Bulldogs’ Rene’-Charles Combette and Jerome Le Belicard.
In singles play, Mississippi State was victorious on every court except the No. 5 position. LSU’s Sadovich outlasted the Bulldogs’ Mathieu Soto in an epic match, 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(9), to pick up the Tigers’ lone-singles victory.
LSU’s two-ranked players in No. 8 Ramaswami and No. 85 Smatt were both beaten by the Bulldogs’ No. 16 Ambert and No. 31 Baron on Sunday. In No. 1 singles, Baron defeated Ramaswami, 6-4, 7-6(2), while Ambert dominated Smatt, 6-1, 6-1, on court No. 2.
With the loss, the Tigers dropped to an overall record of 5-2 on the season and an 0-1 mark in conference play. Mississippi State recorded a win in its opening-SEC match and improved its dual-match record to 6-2.
The 17th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action March 1 at 2 p.m. as the Tigers play host to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in a non-conference battle at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
#18 Mississippi State 5, #17 LSU 2
Singles
1. #31 Marco Baron (MSU) def. #8 Ajay Ramaswami (LSU), 6-4, 7-6(2).
2. #16 Romain Ambert (MSU) def. #85 Jesse Smatt (LSU), 6-1, 6-1.
3. David Ruiz (MSU) def. Dan Kiernan (LSU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
4. Luiz Carvalho (MSU) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
5. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU) def. Mathieu Soto (MSU), 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(9).
6. Max Fomine (MSU) def. John Gray Pou (LSU), 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles
1. #28 Kiernan/Rutka (LSU) def. Baron/Ruiz (MSU), 8-6.
2. Sadovich/Smatt (LSU) def. Ambert/Carvalho (MSU), 8-4.
3. Bryan Fisher/Ramaswami (LSU) def. Rene’-Charles Combette/Jerome Le Belicard (MSU), 8-6.