BATON ROUGE — The 20th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team nearly pulled off its second come-from-behind victory over a top-20 opponent on Friday as the Tigers fell to the eighth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, 5-2, at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“I think that we played some really good tennis today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We fought very hard and that’s the way that I would like to see our team play for the rest of the year. Vanderbilt is just a tremendously talented team and all of their players are mature and solid. They played very well today and I have to congratulate them on their performance.”
With Vanderbilt leading the match 3-1, the resurgent Tigers refused to give up and made strides to mount a comeback in the final three singles contests.
In its previous match, LSU rebounded from a 3-1 deficit against 16th-ranked Texas to rally for a crucial 4-3 victory.
LSU’s Sebastian Rutka cut the Commodore lead to 3-2 by defeating Scott Brown, 6-4, 6-2, on court No. 4, while the Tigers’ Bryan Fisher was playing a third set on court No. 2 and Cory Ross was poised to force a third frame with Vanderbilt’s Lewis Smith in the No. 5 singles match.
Shortly after Rutka registered the Tigers’ lone singles victory of the contest, Vanderbilt’s 10th-ranked Chad Harris outlasted Fisher, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, on court No. 2 to clinch the Commodore win.
LSU (9-6, 2-5 SEC) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Friday by winning two of the three doubles matches.
On court No. 2, the Tigers’ combination of Ross and Rutka knocked off Vanderbilt’s 23rd-ranked tandem of Brown and Harris, 8-4, while LSU’s pair of Brandon Nicholson and Peter Richman clinched the point with an 8-4 win over Matt Lockin and Josh Tarkoff in the No. 3 doubles matchup. With the victory, Ross and Rutka improved to 15-4 on the season.
Vanderbilt (14-2, 5-2) recorded wins in five of the six singles matches on Friday. Bobby Reynolds, the second-ranked player in the nation, defeated the Tigers’ Jason Hazley, 6-3, 6-1, on court No. 1, while LSU’s 38th-ranked Richman fell to the Commodores’ 89th-ranked Lockin, 6-4, 6-3, on court No. 3 and Smith dropped Paul White, 6-2, 6-1, in the No. 6 singles contest.
The 20th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Sunday as the Tigers play host to another Southeastern Conference rival in the 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Admission is free to all LSU home tennis matches and refreshments will be provided by the Tiger Tennis Athletic Foundation.
#8 Vanderbilt (14-2, 5-2 SEC) def. #20 LSU (9-6, 2-5 SEC), 5-2
Doubles
1. #14 Reynolds/Smith (VU) def. #13 Fisher/Hazley (LSU), 8-4
2. Ross/Rutka (LSU) def. #23 Brown/Harris (VU), 8-4
3. Brandon Nicholson/Richman (LSU) def. Josh Tarkoff/Lockin (VU), 8-4
– – Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. #2 Bobby Reynolds (VU) def. Jason Hazley (LSU), 6-3, 6-1
2. #10 Chad Harris (VU) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
3. #89 Matt Lockin (VU) def. #38 Peter Richman (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
4. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Scott Brown (VU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Zach Dailey (VU) def. Cory Ross (LSU), 6-3, 7-5
6. Lewis Smith (VU) def. Paul White (LSU), 6-2, 6-1
– – Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5