BATON ROUGE — The 18th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team dropped the 11th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels by a score of 4-3 on Wednesday as the Tigers picked up a vital Southeastern Conference victory in their final home contest of the season.
“That was one of the best team efforts that I have ever been a part of since I arrived here at LSU as either a player or a coach,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “A lot of our guys were forced to play higher positions today because of some injuries, but they didn’t bat an eye and they played without fear. We are a very good team, but with all of the injuries that we’ve had lately, this win was almost like David versus Goliath.”
LSU’s 15th-ranked senior, Ajay Ramaswami, clinched the upset victory for the Tigers in the final home match of his illustrious career on Wednesday, as he defeated Ole Miss’ 10th-ranked Alexander Hartman, 7-5, 7-5, on court No. 1. With the win, Ramaswami earned his third-straight victory and improved his overall singles record to 25-13 on the season.
The Tigers improved to a 14-6 overall record with the victory and a 7-4 mark against conference opponents. Ole Miss dropped its third-straight match and fell to 6-4 in SEC play and 15-6 overall. LSU completed its regular season schedule on Wednesday and the Tigers lead Ole Miss by a half game for the third-place position in the conference. The Rebels have one SEC match remaining this season as they host Mississippi State on Saturday.
LSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the match on Wednesday, as the Tigers earned the doubles point. The combination of junior Dan Kiernan and sophomore John Gray Pou clinched the point for LSU on court No. 2 as the tandem rallied to beat Ole Miss’ combination of Alexander Hartman and Patrick Chucri, 8-6. The Tigers’ Jesse Smatt and Sanjin Sadovich picked up the first doubles victory on court No. 3, 8-6.
In singles play, Ole Miss’ 44th-ranked James Shortall defeated Sadovich, 6-3, 6-2, on court No. 3 to even the score of the match at 1-1, but then the Tigers rattled off three-consecutive wins on courts No.’s 1, 2, and 4 to knock off the Rebels.
Smatt, LSU’s junior and emotional leader of the team, earned a 7-5, 6-2, victory over the Rebels’ Martin Selin on court No. 4, while the Tigers’ 60th-ranked Kiernan toppled Ole Miss’ No. 32 Kristofer Stahlberg in No. 2 singles in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. The Rebels picked up late singles victories on courts No.’s 5 and 6, as Patrick Chucri outlasted Pou, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in No. 5 singles and Paul Ciorascu overcame a first-set deficit to defeat the Tigers Anthony Mateljan, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“This was a huge win for these guys,” Brown said. “They deserve it and I’m very proud of them and this win is going to go a long way for us this season. This is going to help us have a better chance of hosting a regional and it will get us a better seed in the NCAA tournament. This was a great win for us today.”
The LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on April 19 in Lexington, Ky., as the Tigers compete in the SEC tournament.
#18 LSU: 4, #11 Ole Miss: 3
Singles
1. #15 Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. #10 Alexander Hartman (UM), 7-5, 7-5.
2. #60 Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. #32 Kristofer Stahlberg (UM), 7-5, 6-1.
3. #44 James Shortall (UM) def. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU), 6-3, 6-2.
4. Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Martin Selin (UM), 7-5, 6-2.
5. Patrick Chucri (UM) def. John Gray Pou (LSU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
6. Paul Ciorascu (UM) def. Anthony Mateljan (LSU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Doubles
1. Ramaswami/Mateljan (LSU) vs. #15 Shortall/Stahlberg (UM), suspended.
2. Kiernan/Pou (LSU) def. Hartman/Chucri (UM), 8-6.
3. Smatt/Sadovich (LSU) def. Ciorascu/Selin (UM), 8-6.