BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team began opening round play of the LSU Showcase Friday, at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“Today everyone was able to get a win and tomorrow we have some more good matches ahead of us,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “These guys are very excited and it’s fun just to get back on our courts.”
The team competed in a ranked player round robin singles, a showcase singles, and a showcase doubles, and fought hard throughout the day which allowed the team to come away with some big wins.
In the round robin singles, the Tigers were led by senior Dan Kiernan who won both of his matches in straight sets. Kiernan faced off with Jason Pieters of UL-Lafayette in his first match and quickly dismissed him 6-4, 6-3. His next opponent, Jakub Ilowski, also of UL-Lafayette, put up more of a fight, but Kiernen was able to hold on and win, 7-5, 7-6.
Jesse Smatt, another Tiger senior, struggled in his first match with No. 52 Paco Antelo, but was able to rebound in his second match and pull out a victory over Nadim Naser of South Florida. After winning the first set 7-6, and leading in the second 2-0, Naser was forced to retire from the match due to an injury.
Sophomore Bryan Fisher picked up his second win over a ranked opponent in only a week, when he defeated No. 100 Martin Wetzel in round one. Wetzel hung tough for three sets, but Fisher was able to pull it out, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4. Later Fisher’s bid for another upset of a ranked opponent came up just short, falling to South Florida’s 52nd ranked player Paco Antelo, 2-6, 6-3, 10-7. A 10-point match tiebreaker was used to decide the third set in the ranked player round robin draw.
It was also a big day for freshman Jason Hazley, who picked up his first win over a ranked opponent. In his first match, Hazley came from behind to defeat Ilowski, 6-7, 6-3, 10-8. Not long after that, Hazley came right back and defeated Wetzel of South Florida, again coming from behind in winning 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.
In the Showcase singles, two Tigers advanced today into the semifinals. Sophomore Sanjin Sadovich, who had a first-round bye, defeated Adrian Meier of South Florida in the second round, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Freshman Peter Richman, who also had a first-round bye raced past Eric Gildhorn of South Florida, 6-1, 6-0, en route to the semifinals. Junior Brandon Nicholson didn’t have the same luck as Johan Vanderwesthuizen, of UL-Lafayette took him out in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
In Showcase doubles play, two of the three LSU teams emerged victorious in the first to eight games pro-set. Kiernan and Fisher teamed up for the Tigers and quickly defeated Jorge Escallon and Wetzel of South Florida, 8-4. Another LSU teams, Smatt and Hazley pulled out a thrilling win over South Florida’s Gildhorn and Meier, 9-8.
Singles
Eric Gildhorn (USF) def. Arty Ishii (Tulane), 6-1, 6-0
Jorge Escallon (USF) def. Goran Vasilevic (Tulane), 6-1, 6-4
Adrian Meier (USF) def. Michael Tarchowski (ULL), 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. Jason Pieters (ULL), 6-4, 6-3
Jakub Ilowski (ULL) def. Jason Hazley (LSU), 6-7, 6-3, 10-8
Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Martin Wetzel (USF), 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Paco Antelo (USF) def. Jesse Smatt (LSU), 7-6, 6-4
Viktor Loven (UNO) def. Nadim Naser (USF), 7-6, 6-2
Peter Richman (LSU) def. Gildhorn (USF), 6-1, 6-0
Johan Verderwesthuizen (ULL) def. Brandon Nicholson (LSU), 6-1, 6-2
Mikael Chkroun (UNO) def. Escallon (USF), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Sanjin Sadovich (LSU) def. Adrian Meier (USF), 6-1, 6-3
Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. Jakub Ilowski (ULL), 7-5, 7-6
Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Martin Wetzel (USF), 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Paco Antelo (USF) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 2-6, 6-3, 10-7
Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Nadim Naser (USF), 7-6, 2-0 (Retired)
Viktor Loven (UNO) def. Jason Pieters (ULL), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
Loven/Chkroun (UNO) def. Ishii/Vasilevic (Tulane), injury
Kiernan/Fisher (LSU) def. Escallon/ Wetzel (USF), 8-4
Ilowskei/Vanderwesthuizen (ULL) def. Sadovich/Richman (LSU), 8-2
Smatt/Hazley (LSU) def. Gildhorn/Meier (USF), 9-8
Loven/Chkroun-Ishii def. Antelo/Naser (USF), injury