KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the second straight match, the 26th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team captured the doubles point but faltered in singles play as it fell to 10th-ranked Tennessee, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Tennessee Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Tigers (9-6, 2-4 SEC) won two doubles matches to get the early point but only won one set in singles against the Volunteers (15-2, 4-2 SEC).
The match against the Volunteers was the fourth straight contest for the Tigers against a top-20 opponent.
LSU still leads the all-time series against Tennessee with a 30-22-1 record.
“We have found a lineup that works in doubles,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We have faced back-to-back strong teams where we couldn’t find an answer in singles. We are ready to respond and get refreshed for our last home weekend. This has been a tough stretch for us with some teams that are further along than we are at this point.”
LSU’s top doubles tandem of juniors James Cluskey and Michael Venus saw their six-match win streak snapped on court one where the 17th-ranked pair of Kaden Hensel and J.P. Smith claimed an 8-4 victory.
The senior LSU doubles pair of Kevin Dessauer and Colt Gaston picked up their third-straight win with a solid victory, 8-4, on court two against Davey Sandgren and Jeremy Tweedt.
Freshman Sebastian Carlsson and senior Jan Zelezny clinched the doubles point for LSU on court three with an 8-5 win against Boris Conkic and Matteo Fago.
Carlsson lost his first set against Tweedt, 6-4, but retaliated by winning the second set by a 6-1 mark. Carlsson couldn’t carry the momentum into the final set as Tweedt won, 6-0.
Dessauer lost his first conference match of the season when he fell to Fago, 7-5, 6-2, on court five. The New Orleans native was 4-0 in SEC play prior to Sunday’s match.
LSU returns home next weekend when it host South Carolina on Friday at 2 p.m. and Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday’s match will serve as senior day. Dessauer, Gaston and Zelezny will be recognized before the match.
#10 Tennessee 6, #26 LSU 1
March 23, 2008
Tennessee Varsity Tennis Courts
Singles
1. #17 J.P. Smith (UT) def. #92 Jan Zelezny (LSU), 7-6, 6-0
2. #117 Kaden Hensel (UT) def. #74 Michael Venus (LSU), 6-4, 6-2
3. #118 Boris Conkic (UT) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU), 6-2, 6-1
4. Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Colt Gaston (LSU), 7-6, 6-3
5. Matteo Fago (UT) def. Kevin Dessauer (LSU), 7-5, 6-2
6. Jeremy Tweedt (UT) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
Doubles
1. #17 Kaden Hensel/J.P. Smith (UT) def. James Cluskey/Michael Venus (LSU), 8-4
2. Kevin Dessauer/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Davey Sandgren/Jeremy Tweedt (UT), 8-4
3. Sebasitan Carlsson/Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Boris Conkic/Matteo Fago (UT), 8-5
Match Notes:
Tennessee: 15-2, 4-2; National ranking #10
LSU: 9-6, 2-4; National ranking #26
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,3,5,4,1,6)