ATHENS, Ga. — Led by senior Michael Venus and freshman Neal Skupski, the LSU men’s tennis team fell to third-ranked Georgia, 5-2, on Friday at the Hopkins Indoor Center.
Tiger duo James Cluskey and Jonathan Tragardh posted a victory in doubles against Borja Malo and Christian Vitulli with an 8-4 mark, but the win was not enough as the Bulldogs captured a doubles victory on court two to take a 1-0 lead. Sophomore duo Sebastian Carlsson and Julien Gauthier fell to Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz, 8-4, giving Georgia the early advantage.
LSU (6-7, 1-4 SEC) answered Georgia’s doubles point with two stellar singles performances early on. Even though Georgia had the first victory on the singles courts at court two, ninth-ranked LSU senior Venus defeated Georgia’s 10th-ranked Nate Schnugg in a close clash. The two nationally-ranked players squared off in a three-set showdown where Venus took the match, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5).
“Mike’s match was especially exciting to watch, so much that it was like watching an NCAA championship match,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said.
Next off the courts with a victory for the Tigers was freshman Skupski. Bouncing back from a first-set deficit against Josh Varela, Skupski took the match by posting a 6-4 mark in the last two sets.
Moments after Skupski tied the overall score at two-all, Georgia (15-2, 4-1 SEC) pulled away as LSU’s Carlsson fell to Georgia’s No. 71 Jaime Hunt, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6.
After Carlsson faltered, the match decision fell to the final two courts, courts five and six, where LSU’s Gauthier battled against a first-set loss to Bernstein and freshman Mark Bowtell locked into a standoff against Vitulli.
Bowtell drew ahead, but Vitulli matched him for each point and then took the first set, 6-4. Bowtell was unable to recover and fell to Vitulli 2-6 in the second set for Georgia to clinch the match.
After the clinch, LSU’s Gauthier fell in his match by a close 4-6 margin to Bernstein in the third set, making the final mark 2-5.
“We battled and played great in spots, but not our best in others,” Brown said. “We are starting to put it together and everyone is working hard, but sometimes it is hard to apply it in a match. Hopefully we can do that against Tennessee.”
LSU returns to Baton Rouge for its second Southeastern Conference match of the weekend to face No. 5 Tennessee in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday in W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
#3 Georgia 5, #31 LSU 2
Athens, Ga.
March 27, 2009
Singles
1. #9 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #10 Nate Schnugg (UGA) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)
2. #73 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 6-3, 6-0
3. #71 Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
4. Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Josh Varela (UGA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
5. Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. #7 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (UGA) def. #12 Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) 8-2
2. Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) def. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU) 8-4
3. James Cluskey/John Tragardh (LSU) def. Borja Malo/Christian Vitulli (UGA) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (2, 1, 4, 3, 6, 5)
Match Notes:
LSU 6-7 (1-4 SEC); National ranking #31; Georgia 15-2 (4-1 SEC); National ranking #3
Match moved indoors due to rain.
Official: Walt Williams T-4:42 A-315