TULSA, Okla. — After an impressive first set win, the No. 16 LSU team of James Cluskey and Michael Venus fell to the No. 11 Illinois duo of Billy Heiser and Ryan Rowe, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Tournament at Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Cluskey and Venus end their impressive junior campaign with a 16-6 record as a doubles pair. Heiser and Rowe will now face fourth-seeded and fifth-ranked Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit of Ole Miss on Friday in the second round.
The match was the third time the two highly-ranked duos squared off this season with each team taking one of the first two contests in dominating fashion.
“We got off to a good start but Illinois responded well,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “They jumped out early in the third set and held on. Credit goes to them for keeping their composure and getting the win.”
The turning point in the first set came in game five after each team held serve the first four games. Cluskey and Venus broke the Fighting Illini after a back and forth battle. Illinois scored the first point and LSU answered with a scoring campaign of its own to capture the game and go up 3-2. The Tigers earned three more unanswered games to win the set, 6-2.
Illinois captured the second set, 6-3, and the match hinged upon the third set. Cluskey and Venus battled through nine games before Heiser and Rowe pulled away to take the set with a 6-4 mark and advance to second round.
Cluskey and Venus started their doubles campaign in January and notched five wins against ranked duos this season.
“Having never played together before this year, they did very well and will be in the top 10 when the new year starts,” Brown commented.
NCAA Individual Tournament
May 21-26, 2008 at Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Thursday, May 22
Doubles
First Round – Round of 32
#11 Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. #16 James Cluskey/Michael Venus (LSU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Cluskey Eliminated from ITA Qualifying; Consolation Next