DALLAS — The 18th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team dropped its regular-season finale on Monday as the Tigers fell on the road against the Southern Methodist Mustangs, 4-3, at the Haggar Tennis Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
“SMU was fighting for their life today and we just couldn’t match their intensity,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “They’re playing for a berth in the NCAA Tournament and they came out and played some phenomenal tennis. They outplayed us in the doubles point and then they were able to get wins from their top guys in singles play.”
LSU (12-9) lost to a lower-ranked opponent for the first time of the season on Monday and fell to SMU for the third year in a row. The previous eight LSU losses have all come against opponents currently ranked among the nation’s top 20.
SMU (11-9) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Monday’s non-conference matchup as the Mustangs were able to win the ever-crucial doubles point.
The Mustangs registered doubles victories on courts Nos. 2 and 3, while LSU’s lone win came in the No. 1 doubles match where the 21st-ranked tandem of Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley defeated SMU’s 43rd-ranked pair of Johan Brunstrom and Henrik Soderberg, 8-6. With the win, Fisher and Hazley improved their record to a stellar 20-10 mark on the season.
In singles play, LSU needed to tally wins on four of the six courts in order to earn the come-from-behind victory, but the Tigers fell short with only three wins on court Nos. 3, 4 and 5.
LSU’s 117th-ranked Cory Ross downed the Mustangs’ Peter Oredsson, 6-4, 7-6(5), on court No. 5. The win upped Ross’ overall record on the season to 22-10 and extended his winning streak to three matches. The Tigers’ junior from Littleton, Colo., has registered a 29-20 mark in singles play since transferring from Baylor prior to his sophomore season.
Also winning in singles play for the Tigers were juniors Sebastian Rutka and Fisher. Rutka held off SMU’s Soderberg on court No. 4, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, while Fisher used a first-set tiebreaker to rally past the Mustangs’ Ryan Mauck in the No. 2 singles matchup, 7-6(4), 6-2. Fisher improved to a 13-7 record in dual matches with the victory.
“This was our only loss to a lower-ranked team all season long,” Brown said. “There’s no such thing as a good loss, but this loss won’t hurt us that much. We still have the SEC Tournament coming up and SMU is a very good team. They came a match point away from defeating 15th-ranked Virginia Commonwealth this season and when they are healthy, they can beat almost anybody. We knew that coming in and they just played better than we did today.”
The 18th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Thursday, April 17, as the Tigers face the Arkansas Razorbacks at 8 a.m. in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament held in Oxford, Miss. LSU enters the four-day competition as the fifth seed, while Arkansas is seeded 12th.
SMU (11-9) def. #18 LSU (12-9), 4-3
Haggar Tennis Center – Dallas, Texas
Doubles
1. #21 Fisher/Hazley (LSU) def. #43 Brunstrom/Soderberg (SMU), 8-6
2. Cohn/Mauck (SMU) def. Ross/Rutka (LSU), 8-3
3. Chingoka/Oredsson (SMU) def. Richman/White (LSU), 8-5
Singles
1. #87 Gwinyai Chingoka (SMU) def. Jason Hazley (LSU), 6-3, 6-2
2. #72 Johan Brunstrom (SMU) def. #52 Peter Richman (LSU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
3. Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Ryan Mauck (SMU), 7-6(4), 6-2
4. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Henrik Soderberg (SMU), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
5. #117 Cory Ross (LSU) def. Peter Oredsson (SMU), 6-4, 7-6(5)
6. Eric Cohn (SMU) def. Paul White (LSU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2