COLLEGE STATION, Texas — LSU’s 52nd-ranked men’s tennis player, Dan Kiernan, was knocked out of the 2002 NCAA Singles Championships in the first round of competition on Wednesday, as the Tigers’ senior leader was defeated by Illinois’ 12th-ranked Amer Delic, 7-6(6), 6-1.
“Dan had four very good years for us,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “He never had a let-down in his four seasons and he proved to be a leader since the day that he stepped on campus. He was definitely a catalyst for us his freshman year when we went to the final four, and this season he proved to be an excellent leader through his play and the way that he captained the team.”
In his first appearance in the prestigious field of 64, Kiernan battled with the higher-ranked Delic in the opening set of Wednesday’s contest before falling in the first-set tiebreaker, 8-6. Kiernan couldn’t overcome the heartbreaking decision in the tiebreaker, as he fell to the 9-16 seeded Delic, 6-1, in the second set.
With the loss, Kiernan snapped a six-match winning streak and concluded the season with a 21-15 record. He also ended his tremendous four-year career on Wednesday with an overall singles record of 84-47 and finished tied with former Tiger great Gus Fernandez for 13th on LSU’s all-time win list.
Fernandez competed for the LSU tennis team from 1994-97.
2002 NCAA Singles Championships
First Round
#12 Amer Delic (Illinois) def. #52 Dan Kiernan (LSU), 7-6(6), 6-1