COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 21st-ranked LSU men’s tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 14 South Carolina on Friday at the South Carolina Indoor Tennis Facility in Columbia.
The Tigers got off to a good start by winning the doubles competition to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. LSU’s No .1 combination of Jason Hazley and Bryan Fisher defeated USC’s Marcus Westman and Tom Eklund by a score of 8-5. The No. 2 combo of Cory Ross and Sebastian Rutka beat Seth Rose and Carl Wermee, 8-4.
Westman opened singles play with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Rutka at No. 3 and went up 2-1 when Angelo Niculescu beat the Tigers’ 47th-ranked Peter Richman by scores of 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2. Bryan Fisher tied the match at 2-2 as he defeated Eklund, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7, (2-7), 6-2.
The No. 1 matchup between Rose and Hazley was a battle as Rose won the first set 7-6 (8-6), then Hazley took set two by a count of 6-4 and then Rose avoided match point two times before winning 7-5. Ben Atkinson clinched the match by beating Ross at No .6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
“We became a better team today after this match,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We fought very hard against another good team but we just were not able to overcome all the obstacles against us today.”
The Tigers fell to 7-3 overall and 1-2 in SEC play while South Carolina improved their record to 9-1 and 2-1 in conference action.
LSU will travel to Gainesville, Fla., on Sunday to face No .2 Florida at 1 p.m.
No. 14 South Carolina (9-1, 2-1) def. No. 21 LSU (7-3, 1-2), 4-3
March 7, 2003 – Columbia, S.C.
Doubles
1. Hazley/Fisher (LSU) def. Westman/Eklund (USC), 8-5
2. Ross/Rutka (LSU) def. Rose/Wermee (USC), 8-4
3. Niculescu/Knorr (USC) def. Richman/White (LSU), 8-5
Singles
No. 1 Rose (USC) def. Hazley (LSU), 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-5
No. 2 Niculescu (USC) def. Richman (LSU), 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2
No. 3 Westman (USC) def. Rutka (LSU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 Fisher (LSU) def. Eklund (USC), 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (2-7), 6-2
No. 5 White (LSU) def. Wermee (USC), 7-6, 4-6, 7-5
No. 6 Atkinson (USC) def. Ross (LSU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2*
*Clinched match