HOUSTON — The 26th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team completed its non-conference schedule with its first road victory of the season against 17th-ranked Rice, 4-2, Tuesday afternoon at Rice’s indoor tennis facility.
The Tigers (9-4, 2-2 SEC) have now claimed victories over five ranked teams this season including three in the top 25. LSU’s victory drops Rice’s record to 9-5.
“We had a much improved doubles point today with our new teams,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “In singles, we had good performances from Julien (Gauthier), Mike (Venus) and Jim (Cluskey). Mike did a great job of handling the pressure and clinching it. It was a strong win for us.”
The doubles team of juniors Cluskey and Venus set the tone for LSU by picking up their biggest victory of the season with an 8-3 win against the 16th-ranked duo of Ralph Knupfer and Christoph Muller, 8-3. The Tiger tandem has won five-straight matches and owns a 9-2 record this season.
Seniors Kevin Dessauer and Colt Gaston continued LSU’s momentum with a victory on court two against Chong Wang and Filip Zivojinovic, 8-2. It was the first time the two Tigers had played as a duo since Feb. 9 at Illinois.
Cluskey put LSU’s lead at 2-0 with a straight-sets victory over Wang, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Kentucky’s Bruno Rosa, who is ranked No. 26 in the country, shortened LSU’s advantage by defeating senior Jan Zelezny on court one, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Freshman Gauthier claimed his 15th victory of the season by defeating Knupfer, 6-3, 7-6 (3), to give LSU a 3-1 lead.
Dessauer had his 10-match win streak snapped on court five where he fell to Zivojinovic, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.
With LSU up 3-2, Venus blocked any chance of a Rice comeback by overcoming a first-set deficit to defeat 49th-ranked Christoph Muller, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5. The 74th-ranked Venus is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season.
LSU returns to SEC play Friday when it host defending national champion and third-ranked Georgia at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium for a 1 p.m. match.
#26 LSU 4, #17 Rice 2
March 18, 2008 at Houston, Texas
Rice Indoor Tennis Facility
Singles
1. #26 Bruno Rosa (RICE) def. #92 Jan Zelezny (LSU), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2. #74 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #49 Christoph M?ller (RICE), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
3. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Ralph Knupfer (RICE), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
4. James Cluskey (LSU) def. Chong Wang (RICE), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) def. Kevin Dessauer (LSU), 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
6. Dennis Polyakov (RICE) vs. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 6-4, 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
Doubles
1. Michael Venus/James Cluskey (LSU) def. #16 Ralph Knupfer/Christoph M?ller (RICE), 8-3
2. Colt Gaston/Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Chong Wang/Filip Zivojinovic (RICE), 8-2
3. Bruno Rosa/Vishnu Rajam (RICE) vs. Sebastian Carlsson/Jan Zelezny (LSU), 5-6, unfinished
Match Notes:
LSU 9-4, 2-2; National ranking #26
Rice 9-5; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,3,5,2)