BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the 16th-ranked Texas Longhorns, 4-3, on Saturday in a thrilling non-conference duel at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“This was just a great collegiate tennis match,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We haven’t won very many of these types of matches where we’ve lost the doubles point and it’s just a huge boost for us to do it against a great team in Texas. It says a lot for how hard our guys fought and I’m proud of how they played today. It was a great team effort for us.”
The Tigers’ 51st-ranked Peter Richman capped off the come-from-behind victory by defeating Texas’ 28th-ranked Jean Simon in the No. 1 singles match. Richman, LSU’s speedy sophomore from Toronto, Canada, clinched the Tigers’ second win over a top-20 ranked opponent this season on Saturday by earning an exhilarating 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) match-deciding victory.
“Peter’s had a tough little run,” Brown said. “He hasn’t won a lot of matches lately, but I think that this will be a big turning point for him. We just told him to be brave, go for his shots and just enjoy it. I have to say that in between his nervous shaking out there, he did just great.”
With his crucial three-set victory on court No. 1, Richman snapped a seven-match losing streak and picked up his third win over a top-50 ranked opponent this season. The Tigers’ lefthander also improved his record to 13-12 on the year and moved to 4-3 in the No. 1 singles position.
During Richman’s seven-match losing streak, he faced six top-100 opponents and four rivals ranked among the nation’s top-50.
“Coming into this match, I had lost seven in a row to very good players, but I’d been close in the match each time,” said Richman. “When that was happening, I was starting to doubt myself and I found myself down a set and a break, but then coach (Brown) came up to me and said that I was playing well and that I could win. It made me believe in myself and I was able to fight back in the second set and then the third set was all heart.”
LSU (9-5) used wins from the top of its singles lineup to complete Saturday’s come-from-behind victory.
With Texas (8-4) leading the overall score of the match 3-1, the Tigers’ Jason Hazley picked up the first victory of his career over a top-50 ranked opponent by defeating the Longhorns’ 42nd-ranked Jose Zarhi in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-2. The critical win on court No. 2 moved LSU one step closer to tying the match and improved Hazley’s record on the season to 15-13.
The Tigers’ Sebastian Rutka knotted the score at 3-3 with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Texas’ Pete Stroer on court No. 5. With the victory, Rutka improved to 13-9 on the season and upped his team-leading career record to 52-34 in singles play.
Saturday’s win marked only the fifth time during the 2003 campaign that the Tigers’ were victorious in the top three singles matches.
“It was big for us to get wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2, and for Seby (Sebastian Rutka) to come up big in his match,” said Brown. “It was a new way to do it, but we’ll take it any way that we can get it. It was a great effort for this team and a lot of the guys that have been wanting to step up, stepped up for us today.”
LSU’s Bryan Fisher notched the Tigers’ first point of Saturday’s contest.
The native of Nashville, Tenn., breezed by Texas’ Antonio Ruiz, 6-1, 6-2, in the No. 3 singles match. With the win, Fisher improved to 12-13 on the season.
The LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Friday, March 28, as the Tigers return to Southeastern Conference play and host the 14th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores at 2 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
LSU (9-5) def. #16 Texas (8-4), 4-3
Doubles
1. #48 Simon/Zarhi (UT) def. #16 Fisher/Hazley (LSU), 8-4
2. Haney/Stroer (UT) def. Ross/Rutka (LSU), 8-3
3. Brandon Nicholson/White (LSU) vs. Ryan Haymond/Alastair Jenkin (UT), susp.
– – Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. #51 Peter Richman (LSU) def. #28 Jean Simon (UT), 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
2. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. #42 Jose Zarhi (UT), 7-6(5), 6-2
3. Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Antonio Ruiz (UT), 6-1, 6-2
4. Jimmy Haney (UT) def. Cory Ross (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
5. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Pete Stroer (UT), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Roger Gubser (UT), def. Paul White (LSU), 6-1, 6-2
– – Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1