BATON ROUGE — In front of a packed W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium and facing wretched wind conditions, the No. 20-ranked LSU men’s tennis team gave a valiant effort against No. 2-ranked Ohio State on Saturday afternoon, but stumbled at the end of doubles and singles play as Ohio State won, 4-2.
The loss is the first for the Tigers this season. Even with the loss, Kevin Dessauer and Jan Zelezny both upset players ranked in the top-60. The other four singles players took their opponent to three sets.
“We started off very well, we put ourselves in great position to win the doubles point,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “It was disappointing not to get the doubles point. I was proud of our guys in singles play, we just couldn’t close it out.The environment was great and I want to thank the fans and USTA for showing so much support.”
In doubles Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston jumped out to a 5-1 lead against Drew Eberly and Justin Kronauge of Ohio State. The Buckeyes started to crawl back but could not over come the Tiger pair as they spilt the last six games to give the Tigers an 8-4 victory. The win is the 20th consecutive victory for Bryan and Gaston, dating back to last season.
Dessauer and Zelezny faced their toughest opponent of the season on court three where they battled the No.13 ranked duo of Steven Moneke and Chris Klingermann. The Tiger tandem claimed three out of the first four games to give it an early lead. Each duo went back and forth to tie the match at 5-all. The talented Buckeyes were too much for the Tigers as they went on to win the match, 8-6.
The doubles point would come down to court one’s match of the No. 6-ranked team of James Cluskey and Ken Skupski against the No. 14-ranked team of Ohio State’s Chris Klingermann and Devin Mullings. Neither team was able to gain more than a 2-game lead as they went to a tiebreaker to settle the heated battle. The Tigers were never able to gain the momentum in the tiebreaker, as they lost, 7-2, giving the Buckeyes the doubles point.
Dessauer and Zelezny retaliated after their doubles loss as each of them knocked off opponents ranked in the top-60. Dessauer handily defeated No. 35 Devin Millings in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
Newcomer Jan Zelezny went three sets with No. 60-ranked Justin Kronauge to capture a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win.
“Kevin is a great example of a player who just goes out and plays his game. He doesn’t worry about who his opponent is or rankings,” Brown commented. “Jan is also a great competitor, but he works more on the mental aspect of the game. He looks at his opponent’s weaknesses and tries to attack them.”
Skupski split his first two sets with No. 14-ranked Steven Moneke on court one. Skupski fell behind early in the final set as he went on to lose the match, 7-5, 1-6, 6-1.
After dropping his first set, Gaston bounced back in the second set against Klingermann and won it by a 7-5 count. The Georgia native struggled in the final set as he lost by a 6-4 decision.
LSU will be back in action Tuesday at 2 p.m. when it hosts TCU.
#2 Ohio State 4, #20 LSU 2
February 24, 2007 at Baton Rouge, La.
Singles competition:
1. #14 Steven Moneke (OSU) def. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU), 7-5, 1-6, 6-1
2. #62 Danny Bryan (LSU) vs. #17 Bryan Koniecko (OSU), 5-7, 6-4, 2-2 (unfinished)
3. #47 Chris Klingermann (OSU) def. Colt Gaston (LSU), 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
4. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def .#35 Devin Mullings (OSU), 7-5, 6-4
5. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. #60 Justin Kronauge (OSU), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
6. Drew Eberly (OSU) def. James Cluskey (LSU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. #14 Chris Klingermann/Devin Mullings (OSU) def. #6 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU), 9-8 (2)
2. #25 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. #60 Drew Eberly/Justin Kronauge (OSU), 8-4
3. #13 Steven Moneke/Chris Klingermann (OSU) def. Kevin Dessauer/Jan Zelezny (LSU), 8-6
# – national rankings
Order of finish:
Singles: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
Doubles: 2, 3, 1