LSU, Vanderbilt Advance at NCAA Tennis Regional
BATON ROUGE — The Southeastern Conference came out on top Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium where LSU and Vanderbilt advanced to the second round.
The No. 15-ranked Tigers defeated the Alcorn State Braves, 4-0, in the first match. The No. 45-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores upset the No. 18-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 4-2, in the afternoon match.
LSU and Vanderbilt will square off at noon Saturday for a chance to advance to the round of 16.
LSU leads in the all-times series against Vanderbilt with a 40-14-1 record. Most recently, the Tigers defeated the Commodores, 6-1, on March 11.
“Vanderbilt is a team that we are familiar with. Both team’s know a lot about each other,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “There won’t be many surprises with either team. It will just come down to who wants it more.”
Below is a recap of the first round matches:
LSU BLANKS ALCORN STATE, 4-0, ADVANCES TO NCAA SECOND ROUND
BATON ROUGE — The No. 15-ranked LSU men’s tennis team cruised in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as it defeated Alcorn State, 4-0, Friday morning at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Tigers (17-6, 7-4 SEC) will face Vanderbilt on Saturday at noon in the second round.
“We came out with a lot of intensity in the doubles and didn’t give them any openings,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We pushed our momentum into singles and finished strong.”
LSU is 3-0 all-time against Alcorn State. All three times LSU won by a 4-0 count.
The win marks the 22nd time the Tigers have advanced to the second round. LSU head coach Jeff Brown has reached the second round eight out of the 10 years he has led the team.
The Tigers captured the first point of the match by sweeping the doubles portion. Kevin Dessauer and Jan Zelezny were the first to strike for the Tigers as they breezed past Michael Okada and Freddy Khrushchev, 8-0.
A few minutes later, the No. 22-ranked duo of James Cluskey and Ken Skupski clinched the doubles point for the Tigers by shutting down Aziz Abdurazzakov and Juan Hernandez , 8-1. The clinch marks the 11th time the Tigers have swept the doubles point and the 18th time out of their 23 matches that they have captured the doubles point.
In singles, the three juniors in LSU’s lineup would secure the victory.
Zelezny has been dominant at home all season and he continued his strong play Friday by knocking off Khrushchev in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. The win improves Zelezny’s record to 21-11 on the season, including 13-2 at Robinson Stadium.
Gaston extended LSU’s lead to 3-0 by defeating Aziz Abdurazzakov, 6-0, 6-1.
Dessauer clinched the match for the Tigers by handily defeating Okada, 6-3, 6-1. Dessauer improved his record this season to 23-10.
If the Tigers come out victorious on Saturday they will advance to the round of 16, which begins Thursday in Athens, Ga.
#15 LSU 4, Alcorn State 0
NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament First Round
May 11, 2007 at Baton Rouge, La.,
Singles competition:
1. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU) led. Abhaya Prakash (ALCORN), 6-0, 4-4 (unfinished)
2. #32 Danny Bryan (LSU) led. Shashnk Kulkarni (ALCORN), 6-3, 4-1 (unfinished)
3. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Aziz Abdurazzakov (ALCORN), 6-0, 6-1
4. #94 Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Michael Okada (ALCORN), 6-3, 6-1
5. James Cluskey (LSU) led. Juan Hernandez (ALCORN), 6-0, 3-2 (unfinished)
6. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Freddy Khrushchev (ALCORN), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition:
1. #4 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) led. Abhaya Prakash/Shashnk Kulkarni (ALCORN), 4-2 (unfinished)
2. #22 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Aziz Abdurazzakov/Juan Hernandez (ALCORN), 8-1
3. Kevin Dessauer/Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Michael Okaka/Freddy Khrushchev (ALCORN), 8-0
# – national rankings
Match notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (6, 3, 4)
VANDERBILT UPSETS TULSA, 4-2, TO REACH NCAA SECOND ROUND
BATON ROUGE — Tulsa and Vanderbilt went down to the wire in their first round match in the NCAA Tournament, before Vanderbilt pulled through with a 4-2 win Friday afternoon at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Commodores (11-12) will now face the LSU Tigers (17-6) Saturday at noon in the second round. The Golden Hurricane finished the season with a 19-7 record.
The match began with a fierce battle for the doubles point. The two teams split the matches on court two and three. Court’s one match of Vanderbilt’s Vijay Paul and Ryan Preston and Tulsa’s Diego Camacho and Ross Cunningham went back and forth to head to a tiebreaker. The Vanderbilt pair outlasted the Golden Hurricane duo to give Vanderbilt the early 1-0 lead.
Two hours and twenty minutes went by before the next point was scored. Camacho tied the score at 1-all by taking out Vanderbilt’s Jordan Magarik, 6-1, 7-6 (3). The remaining five singles matches would push to three sets.
Vanderbilt’s Andy Mack put his team back on top when he defeated Cunningham, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Tulsa’s Federico Soriano tied it up when he took out Paul in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
On court two, Vanderbilt’s Nik Cromydas came back from a first-set deficit to knock off Ricardo Soriano, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Evan Dufaux came through for the Commodores on court three by outlasting Will Gray, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) to push the Commodores to the second round.
#45 Vanderbilt 4, #18 Tulsa 2
NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament First Round
May 11, 2007 at Baton Rouge, La.
Singles competition:
1. #7 Arnau Brugues (TULSA) vs. #45 Ryan Preston (VANDY), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 5-5 (unfinished)
2. #117 Nik Cromydas (VANDY) def. #103 Ricardo Soriano (TULSA), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Evan Dufaux (VANDY) def. Will Gray (TULSA), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
4 Federico Soriano (TULSA) def. Vjay Paul (VANDY), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
5. Andy Mack (VANDY) def. Ross Cunningham (TULSA), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
6. Diego Camacho (TULSA) def. Jordan Magarik (VANDY), 6-1, 7-6 (3)
Doubles competition:
1. Vijay Paul/Ryan Preston (VANDY) def. #41 Diego Camacho/Ross Cunningham (TULSA) 9-8 (5)
2. Andy Connelly/Lucques Maasdorp (TULSA) def. Nik Cromydas/Evan Dufaux (VANDY) 8-5
3. 3. Andy Mack/Jordan Magarik (VANDY) def. Arnau Brugues/Federico Soriano (TULSA) 8-6
Match notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (6, 5, 4, 2, 3)
2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Regional
Baton Rouge, La.
May 11-12, 2007
All times Central
Round of 64
Match 1: (15) LSU def. Alcorn St., 4-0
Match 2: Vanderbilt def. Tulsa, 4-2
Round of 32
Match 3: Vanderbilt vs. (15) LSU, noon*
* winner advances to NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga.
All Times Central and subject to changes
NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament Pairings
Los Angeles, Calif. (USC)
Friday, May 11
3 p.m. – Pepperdine def. Penn State, 4-1
6 p.m. – USC def. UC Santa Barbara, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
3 p.m. – Pepperdine vs. USC
Waco, Texas (Baylor)
Friday, May 11
3 p.m. – Texas A&M def. Rice, 4-2
6 p.m. – Baylor def. Oral Roberts, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
5 p.m. – Texas A&M vs. Baylor
Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA)
Friday, May 11
Noon – Texas Tech def. Virginia Commonwealth, 4-1
3 p.m. – UCLA def. UNLV, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
5 p.m. – Texas Tech vs. UCLA
Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina)
Friday, May 11
9 a.m. – North Carolina def. Radford, 4-1
Noon – NC State def. William & Mary, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
3 p.m. – North Carolina vs. NC State
South Bend, Ind. (Notre Dame)
Friday, May 11
10 a.m. – Notre Dame def. Butler, 4-0
1 p.m. – Wisconsin def. Washington, 4-3
Saturday, May 12
2 p.m. – Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin
Durham, N.C. (Duke)
Friday, May 11
9 a.m. – Duke def. UMBC, 4-0
Noon – Alabama def. ETSU, 4-2
Saturday, May 12
Noon – Duke vs. Alabama
Athens, Ga. (Georgia)
Friday, May 11
Noon – Auburn def. Georgia St., 4-0
3 p.m. – Georgia def. Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
3 p.m.- Georgia vs. Auburn
Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida St.)
Friday, May 11
9 a.m. – Florida St. def. Manhattan, 4-0
Noon – Florida def. Georgia Tech, 4-1
Saturday, May 12
Noon – Florida State vs. Florida
Urbaba, Ill. (Illinois)
Friday, May 11
Noon – Michigan def. Drake, 4-0
3 p.m. – Illinois def. Western Michigan, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
1 p.m. – Michigan vs. Illinois
Baton Rouge, La. (LSU)
Friday, May 11
10 a.m. – LSU def. Alcorn St., 4-0
1 p.m. – Vanderbilt def. Tulsa, 4-2
Saturday, May 12
Noon – LSU vs. Vanderbilt
Oxford, Miss. (Ole Miss)
Friday, May 11
1 p.m. – South Alabama def. Minnesota, 4-1
4 p.m. – Ole Miss def. Jacksonville State, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
1 p.m. – Ole Miss vs. South Alabama
Columbus, Ohio (Ohio St.)
Friday, May 11
Noon – Ohio St. def. Columbia, 4-0
3 p.m. – Tennessee def. Miami, 4-3
Saturday, May 12
Noon – Ohio St. vs. Tennessee
Austin, Texas (Texas)
Friday, May 11
10 a.m. – Texas def. Navy, 4-0
1 p.m. – Boise St. def. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-1
Saturday, May 12
1 p.m. – Texas vs. Boise St.
Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia)
Friday, May 11
9 a.m. – Virginia def. Hampton, 4-0
Noon – Old Dominion def. Virginia Tech, 4-3
Saturday, May 12
Noon – Virginia vs. Old Dominion
Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest)
Friday, May 11
10 a.m. Wake Forest def. Charlotte, 4-0
1 p.m. Clemson def. Elon, 4-0
Saturday, May 12
1 p.m. Wake Forest vs. Clemson
Stillwater, Okla. (Oklahoma St.)
Saturday, May 12
11 a.m. – California vs. Oklahoma
2 p.m. – Sacramento State vs. Oklahoma State
Sunday, May 13
2 p.m. – Winners