NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU men’s tennis team defeated Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt, 4-3, at the Brownlee Currey Jr. Tennis Center on Friday, marking the Tigers first conference victory.
After sweeping doubles, LSU pulled ahead to the early 1-0 lead, but Vanderbilt answered with several strong singles performances.
Tiger sophomore Julien Gauthier fell to Alex Zotov, 6-2, 6-2, and Vanderbilt pulled even. As freshman Neal Skupski fell on court two to Vijay Paul by a 6-2, 6-4 mark, the Commodores took the lead and threatened the match.
The Tigers continued to fight through singles and sophomore Sebastian Carlsson overcame a first-set deficit by moving over opponent Charlie Jones, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, once again allowing LSU to tie-up the boards.
In the back-and ?forth match, senior James Cluskey fell in a close match against Adam Baker, 7-5, 7-6, and Vanderbilt was back in the lead.
On court one, Michael Venus fought to maintain control after losing the first set by a narrow 7-6 margin. Displaying bounce-back ability, the 6-3 LSU senior took the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2, and the match fell to court six where freshman Mark Bowtell was leading the second set against Vanderbilt’s James Moye.
In the first set, Bowtell pushed past James Moye, 7-6. Bowtell carried the momentum into his second set to earn a 6-4 mark to clinch victory for the Tigers.
“It was a great performance for Michael coming off an injury to bounce back after losing the first set and it was the same thing with Sebastian,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “For Bowtell to clinch the last match is definitely a confidence boost and the team was happy to get the win after a tough opening SEC weekend.”
LSU continues SEC competition against Kentucky on Sunday as the Tigers take on the Wildcats at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex in an 11 a.m. match.
41 LSU 4, #39 Vanderbilt 3
Mar 13, 2009 at Nashville, Tenn. (Currey Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #9 Michael Venus (LSU) def. Bryant Salcedo (VU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2
2. Vijay Paul (VU) def. David Skupski (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Adam Baker (VU) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-0)
4. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Charlie Jones (VU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
5. Alex Zotov (VU) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. James Moye (VU) 7-6 (11-9), 6-4
Doubles
1. #13 Michael Venus/David Skupski (LSU) def. #30 Adam Baker/Alex Zotov (VU) 8-5
2. Jonathan Tragardh/James Cluskey (LSU) def. #58 Nick Cromydas/Bryant Salcedo (VU) 8-5
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Charlie Jones/Vijay Paul (VU) 8-6
Match Notes:LSU 5-4, 1-2 SEC; National ranking #41
Vanderbilt 4-9, 0-3 SEC; National ranking #39
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,2,4,3,1,6)