KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU men’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the 13th-consecutive season on Thursday, as the Tigers knocked off the 16th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 4-2, in the opening round of competition at the UT Varsity Courts in Knoxville, Tenn.
“We did a good job of grabbing the doubles point today, because it was definitely a crucial point,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We had two guys close out matches quickly in singles play and everybody else fought back with big second-set wins. That was big for us because they (Alabama) didn’t get their first point until we had three, and with the law of averages we knew that we were in good shape to get the fourth.”
With the Tigers leading in Thursday’s first-round contest 3-2, LSU’s 51st-ranked Dan Kiernan rallied back from a first-set deficit to defeat Alabama’s No. 56 Max Belski, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5. The vital win secured the Tigers’ advancement into the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament and improved Kiernan’s record on the season to 18-14. LSU’s senior has clinched a team-high three contests this season.
LSU improved to an overall record of 10-12 with the victory and defeated its third top-30 ranked opponent in its previous four attempts. The Tigers have been playing inspired tennis as of late and have accumulated recent wins over No. 18 Alabama, No. 21 Arkansas and 30th-ranked Mississippi State. LSU advanced to face No. 15 Auburn in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament on Friday at 8 a.m. (EST).
“That was our third win over a highly-ranked opponent in four attempts,” Brown said. “We’ve been doing what it takes to win in our last few matches and that’s a good sign for us, because you always want to peak at the end of the season and we’ve done a good job of doing that lately.
LSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Thursday’s contest as the Tigers were victorious in both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches.
After the Tigers’ lost the No. 3 doubles competition, 8-5, LSU’s tandem of Dan Kiernan and Jason Hazley kept the team’s hopes alive for the doubles point by defeating the Tide’s Stephen Mitchell and Max Belski, 8-6, on court No. 1. The win was Kiernan and Hazley’s third-consecutive victory as a team.
LSU’s No. 2 doubles combination of Cory Ross and Sebastian Rutka then clinched the crucial first point of the duel by knocking off Alabama’s pair of Nick Beaque and William Boyles, 8-6. With the win, the Tigers’ coupling of sophomore’s upped its overall record on the season to 7-2.
The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 in singles play with quick straight-set wins on courts No. 2 and No. 4. Peter Richman, LSU’s competitive freshman from Toronto, Canada, downed the Tide’s Chris Gostek, 6-4, 6-1, on court No. 2, while Rutka rallied past Alabama’s Beaque in the No. 4 singles match, 6-0, 7-5. Rutka, the Tigers’ explosive sophomore from Krakow, Poland, upped his dual-match record to 9-6 with the victory.
“I think that I played really well today,” said Rutka, who’s wins in both singles and doubles play helped propel the Tigers to Thursday’s upset victory. “I’ve been playing better in the last couple of matches and it feels good to be playing well after a really slow start this season. I’ve worked really hard with the coaches and they helped me to gain confidence and now I’m playing better because of it.”
Alabama’s Christian Broderson cut the Tigers’ overall lead in the match to 3-1 with a victory over Cory Ross on court No. 6. Broderson’s 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, victory cut the Tide’s deficit to two points with only three matches remaining.
The LSU men’s tennis team will compete in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament for the 13th-consecutive season on Friday, as the Tigers face 15th-ranked Auburn at 8 a.m. (EST) here at the UT Varsity Courts in Knoxville, Tenn. Auburn defeated the Tigers, 4-1, during the regular season on the road in Auburn, Ala.
LSU 4, #16 Alabama 2
Doubles
1. Kiernan/Hazley (LSU) def. Belski/Mitchell (UA), 8-6
2. Ross/Rutka (LSU) def. Beaque/William Boyles (UA), 8-6*
3. McRae/Gostek (UA) def. Richman/Fisher (LSU), 8-5.
Singles
1. #51 Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. #56 Max Belski (UA), 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5*
2. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Chris Gostek (UA), 6-4, 6-1
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) vs. Stephen Mitchell (UA), suspended.
4. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Nick Beaque (UA), 6-0, 7-5
5. Chris McRae (UA) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
6. Christian Broderson (UA) def. Cory Ross (LSU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
Overall Records: LSU 10-12, Alabama 15-7
Quarterfinal Round Pairings
Match 5: #3 Auburn vs. #11 LSU, 7 a.m.
Match 6: #2 Ole Miss vs. #7 Kentucky, 10 a.m.
Match 7: #1 Georgia vs. #9 South Carolina, 1 p.m.
Match 8: #4 Tennessee vs. #5 Florida, 4 p.m.