BATON ROUGE — The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team overcame both the elements and the New Mexico Lobos on Sunday, as the Tigers earned a 5-2 victory in cold and windy conditions at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“There were some really tough conditions our there today and we overcame them and played well,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “New Mexico challenged us in some spots today, maybe because we didn’t play our best, but we were able to get through it in enough positions to claim the victory.”
LSU clinched its third-straight non-conference victory of the season on Sunday as sophomore Sebastian Rutka rallied to defeat New Mexico’s John Kowaski on court No. 5. Rutka, the Tigers’ native of Krakow, Poland, overcame a one-set deficit to clinch the match, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Rutka notched his second-straight singles victory and improved his overall record to 8-8.
With Sunday’s victory, the Tigers improve to 3-0 to begin a season for the 16th-straight year. The last time that LSU did not open the season with at least an undefeated 3-0 record was in 1996 when the Tigers fell to UCLA, 2-7. The Lobos fell to an overall record of 3-4 on the season as New Mexico went winless in its road trip to Louisiana. The Lobos lost to Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-3, on Saturday.
The LSU men’s tennis team took an early 1-0 lead in Sunday’s contest, as the Tigers swept all three courts in doubles play to earn the vital doubles point. LSU’s 47th-ranked team in the nation comprised of Dan Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka clinched the point with a sound 8-3 victory over New Mexico’s team of Brent Salazar and Ryan Stotland on court No. 1.
In singles play, the Tigers dominated the competition on courts No. 2 and No. 3 to increase its lead to 3-0 in the match. LSU’s highly-touted freshman Peter Richman dropped the Lobos’ Bart Scott, 7-6(2), 6-4, on court No. 2, while the Tigers’ 85th-ranked Bryan Fisher handled David Kowaski in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, on court No. 3.
LSU’s Cory Ross earned the fifth-and-final point of the afternoon for the Tigers as the sophomore transfer from Baylor defeated New Mexico’s Salazar, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, on court No. 6. With the win, Ross notched the first singles victory of his LSU career.
“We just have to take this win and use it to get prepared for one of the best teams in the nation when we face Illinois,” Brown said. “They (Illinois) will either be the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the nation when we play them on Saturday, and we just have to prepare the best we can to try and get a huge road win.”
The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Saturday, Feb. 16, as the Tigers head to Champagne, Ill., to face the highly-ranked Illini.
#16 LSU (3-0) def. New Mexico (3-4), 5-2.
Doubles
1. #47 Kiernan/Rutka (LSU) def. Salazar/Ryan Stotland, 8-3.
2. Fisher/Ross (LSU) def. Scott/Polasek, 8-2.
3. Smatt/Hazley (LSU) def. Coetzee/Kowaski, 9-7.
Singles
1. Divan Coetzee (UNM) def. #42 Dan Kiernan, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
2. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Bart Scott, 7-6(2), 6-4.
3. #85 Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. David Kowaski, 6-3, 6-1.
4. Michael Polasek (UNM) def. Jason Hazley, 6-4, 6-3.
5. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. John Kowaski, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
6. Cory Ross (LSU) def. Brent Salazar, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.