BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team overcame a six-hour rain delay and frigid weather conditions to defeat SEC rival Kentucky , 4-0, Friday evening at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The match was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. but was postponed due to rain. The courts were ready to go by 5:30 p.m. but after a few games in doubles, Mother Nature struck again with more rain and sleet. After a short stint of some light snow, the courts were dried for a third time and the match resumed at 8:30 pm. The match finished at 10:55 p.m. after LSU clinched the win.
LSU (5-3, 1-2 SEC) leads the all-time series against Kentucky (6-7, 1-2 SEC) with a 30-11 record.
“The doubles point was big tonight with Jim and Mike coming back to get the win,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “Neither team really played their best. In singles we came out and used momentum with so many people taking an early lead set the tone. With the bad conditions it was important to take the early lead. For a team on the road, it is hard to come back in those conditions. I want to thank the grounds crew who stayed with us for close to 12 hours after several rain delays. I also want to thank the brave fans that endured the tough conditions.”
In doubles, juniors James Cluskey and Michael Venus fell behind early against Bruno Agostinelli and Brad Cox as the Kentucky pair jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. The Tiger tandem stole the momentum by winning five of the next seven games to tie the match at 5-all. After dropping the next game, Cluskey and Venus controlled the next two games to take an 8-6 victory.
At the time court one’s match finished, Kentucky had a two-game lead on the remaining two doubles courts.
On court three, freshman Sebastian Carlsson and senior captain Kevin Dessauer teamed up for the first time to face Will Beck and Shane Collins. The new LSU duo found themselves down 7-5 but rallied to win four straight games to win the match, 9-7, and clinch the doubles point for LSU.
Court two’s match was called after LSU clinched the doubles point.
Senior Colt Gaston ended a three-match losing skid to put LSU’s lead at 2-0 with a straight sets victory over Brad Cox, 6-2, 6-1.
Freshman Carlsson pushed his team-lead to 17 wins by defeating Will Beck on court six, 7-6, 6-1, to push LSU’s lead to 3-0.
Senior Jan Zelezny ended the long day by defeating Will Ward, 6-1, 7-6, to give LSU the win.
LSU has little time to rest as it host a double header on Sunday with Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. and Centenary at 4 p.m.
#44 LSU def. #55 Kentucky, 4-0
March 7, 2008 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
Singles competition
1. #56 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) vs. #86 Michael Venus (LSU), 6-4, 1-6, 1-1 (unfinished)
2. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Will Ward (UK), 6-1, 7-6
3. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Brad Cox (UK), 6-2, 6-1
4. James Cluskey (LSU) led. Marcus Sundh (UK), 7-6, 4-3 (unfinished)
5. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) led. Alberto Gonzales (UK), 6-0, 4-5 (unfinished)
6. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Will Beck (UK), 7-6, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. James Cluskey/Michael Venus (LSU) def. Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK), 8-6
2. Marcus Sundh/Will Ward (UK) led. Colt Gaston/Jan Zelezny (LSU), 7-4 (unfinished)
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Will Beck/Shane Colllins (UK), 9-7
Match Notes:
Kentucky 6-7, 1-2; National ranking #55
LSU 5-3, 1-2; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,6,2)