BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team dominated its doubleheader on Sunday by knocking off No. 22 Vanderbilt, 6-1, and Centenary, 7-0, at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Tigers (7-3, 2-2 SEC) won 14 of their 15 singles matches over the weekend while only dropping three sets. The Tigers controlled the doubles point as well as they won all eight of their doubles matches.
“We came out and played our best and most complete doubles point of the year against Vanderbilt,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We carried the momentum over to singles similar to what we did against Kentucky on Friday. We have done a good job of playing with great enthusiasm at home. We have an opportunity to stay home for our next two matches and we hope to continue to play at the level we are at.”
LSU’s wins drops Vanderbilt’s record to 9-4 and 1-3 in conference, while Centenary’s record is at 1-6. The Tigers only lost four games against the Gents.
Senior captain Kevin Dessauer and freshman Sebastian Carlsson had dominating performances on Sunday.
Dessauer cruised against Vanderbilt’s Evan Dufaux by taking the first set 6-2 and blanking him in the second, 6-0. Against Centenary, Dessauer faced little competition against Gerardo Lozano as the Tiger captain won, 6-0, 6-0.
Dessauer’s wins puts his dual-record this season at a perfect 8-0.
Dessauer had success off the court this week as well as he recently got engaged to his long-time girlfriend Michelle Reynolds.
Carlsson picked up two straight-set victories on Sunday to push his team-leading win total to 19. Sixteen of Carlsson’s victories have come in straight sets.
Dessauer and Carlsson continue to gel in doubles as the duo picked up two 8-0 wins on Sunday. Against Vanderbilt, the LSU pair demolished Adam Baker and Vjay Paul by only relinquishing 12 points. Carlsson and Dessauer continued their dominance later that afternoon against Centenary as the Gents were only able to get eight points against the Tiger tandem.
LSU’s No. 1 singles player Michael Venus, who is ranked as the No. 86 singles player in the country, picked up his second win against a nationally-ranked opponent by defeating Vanderbilt’s 65th-ranked Ryan Preston, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Junior Jonathan Tragardh played in his first dual match of the season. The Indian Hills, Calif., native cruised past Jacob Dawson, 6-0, 6-1, and teamed up with James Cluskey on court one to blank Jacob Dawson and Mark Rodgman, 8-0.
The Tigers will take a break from SEC play with a three-match, non-conference swing beginning with South Florida on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
March 9, 2008 at Baton Rouge, La.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
#44 LSU def. #22 Vanderbilt, 6-1
Singles
1. #86 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #65 Ryan Preston (VANDY), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. #82 Vjay Paul (VANDY), 6-1, 6-3
3. Nick Cromydas (VANDY) def. Colt Gaston (LSU), 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
4. James Cluskey (LSU) def. Bryant Salcedo (VANDY), 6-4, 6-4
5. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Evan Dufaux (VANDY), 6-2, 6-0
6. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Alex Zotov (VANDY), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. James Cluskey/Michael Venus (LSU) def. Evan Dufaux/Ryan Preston (VANDY), 8-5
2. Colt Gaston/Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Nick Cromydas/Bryant Salcedo (VANDY), 8-4
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Adam Baker/Vjay Paul (VANDY), 8-0
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt: 9-4, 1-3; National ranking #22
LSU: 6-3, 2-2; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,2,4,3,1)
#44 LSU def. Centenary, 7-0
Singles
1. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Mark Rodgman (CENT), 6-0, 6-1
2. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Oscar Medellin (CENT), 6-0, 6-0
3. James Cluskey (LSU) def. Alejandro Ahuja (CENT), 6-1, 6-1
4. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Gerardo Lozano (CENT), 6-0, 6-0
5. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Seva Kostelanetz (CENT), 6-0, 6-0
6. Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) def. Jacob Dawson (CENT), 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. James Cluskey/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) def. Mark Rodgman/Jacob Dawson (CENT), 8-0
2. Julien Gauthier/Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Gerardo Lozano/Oscar Medellin (CENT), 8-0
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Alejandro Ahuja/Seva Kostelanetz (CENT), 8-0
Match Notes:
Centenary: 1-6, 0-0
LSU: 7-3, 2-2; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,2,4,1,3,6)