LEXINGTON, Ky. — The LSU men’s tennis team was not able to push past the top 25 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday as the Tigers fell by a 7-0 mark at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex to split the weekend in Southeastern Conference competition.
The Tigers fought past Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Friday, but were unable to carry the momentum into Sunday’s match against Kentucky (10-4, 3-3 SEC).
Although LSU (5-5, 1-3 SEC) fell in the overall match, LSU duo Michael Venus and Neal Skupski notched a victory over Kentucky’s 20th-ranked Bruno Agostinelli and Brad Cox. The 13th-ranked Tiger tandem defeated Agostinelli and Cox, 8-6, marking the duo’s second victory over a ranked opponent of the weekend.
Venus also contended heavily with Agostinelli in singles. After the 6-3 LSU senior posted a 7-6 first-set victory over second-ranked Agostinelli, Venus fell by a slim 6-4 margin in the second set. With Kentucky clinching the match just before Venus could enter a third set, a super-tiebreaker took place in which Agostinelli won the match 10-6.
LSU returns to competition against South Florida in a 4 p.m. match on Wednesday in W.T. Robinson Stadium.
#21 Kentucky 7, #41 LSU 0
March 15, 2009
Lexington, Ky.
Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex
Singles
1. #2 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. #9 Michael Venus (LSU), 6-7(7-5), 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
2. Brad Cox (UK) def. Neal Skupski (LSU), 7-5, 6-4
3. #99 Eric Quigley (UK) def. James Cluskey(LSU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Alex Musialek (UK) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Graeme Dyce (UK) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU), 6-4, 6-2
6. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles
1. #13 Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. #20 Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK), 8-6
2. Graeme Dyce/Eric Quigley (UK) def. James Cluskey/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU), 8-4
3. Alberto Gonzaelz/Alex Musialek (UK) def. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU), 8-6
Order of Finish:
Singles: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6
Doubles: 2, 1, 3