TULSA, Okla. — Senior Michael Venus of the LSU men’s tennis team moved through two ranked opponents on Saturday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center to become the first LSU player to enter the ITA All-American finals in school history.
“I’m not surprised by his success since he has such a strong work ethic and intensity in his practice and in conditioning,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “He is playing with confidence because he knows he is as prepared as he can be.”
In his first match of the day, No. 20 Venus took on Arkansas’ Blake Strode, No. 41 in ITA preseason rankings. Venus got off to a slow start as Strode posted a 6-1 mark in the first set, but worked to turn the momentum in his favor during the second set with a 6-3 mark. The match was decided in the third set as Venus posted a 6-4 mark and advanced over Strode into the semifinals of the tournament.
“The first set, Strode was playing well and did everything perfectly. (Assistant coach) Danny (Bryan) came up with an idea that I could do to combat his tactics and it worked great,” Venus said.
Following the victory over Strode, Venus squared off against Enrique Olivares of East Tennessee State University in the semifinals. Venus edged out No. 31 Olivares in a heated first set by a close 7-6 (3) mark. The 6-3 senior overpowered Olivares in the second set posting a 6-1 mark to catapult him into the finals.
“He has been working hard on handling emotions in practice and stayed very calm in today’s matches,” LSU assistant coach Danny Bryan said. “It really showed how much he improved in that area with his matches today.”
Venus faces the No. 1 player, Oklahoma State’s Oleksandr Nedovyesov, at 10 a.m. on Sunday in a match to decide the singles champion of the 2008 D’Novo All-American.
D’Novo All-American Main Draw
Tulsa, Okla.
October 9-12, 2008
All Times Central
Oct. 11
Singles
Quarterfinals
#20 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #41 Blake Strode (Arkansas), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals
#20 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #31 Enrique Olivares, 7-6 (3), 6-1
Oct. 12
Finals
#20 Michael Venus (LSU) vs. #1 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Oklahoma State), 10 a.m.