BATON ROUGE — The 28th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team fell, 4-2, to second-ranked Ole Miss on Saturday at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium in the NCAA round of 32 to cap the Tigers’ season with an 11-12 record.
“I think we got the most out of team that we could this season,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We weren’t a top-10 team, but we were a team that fought hard. The guys fought hard the entire year. The practices were a joy to watch as we saw the guys improve.”
LSU began with a slow start in doubles, giving up the early point to Ole Miss, however LSU’s premier doubles team, second-ranked Michael Venus and Neal Skupski, defeated Ole Miss’ top-ranked team of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge for the third time this season to end with a seven-match win streak.
In singles, LSU was the first to claim a point as sophomore Sebastian Carlsson cruised to a straight-set victory over Otto Sauer 6-3, 6-1.
Seventh-ranked Venus was next off the courts with a victory over No. 16 Jonas Berg, 6-1, 7-6, and pushed the Tigers into the lead, 2-1.
The Rebels countered by taking court five where LSU’s Mark Bowtell fell to Marcel Thiemann, 6-3, 6-3, and then also court six as Cody Loup fell to Ole Miss’s Chris Thiemann, 6-4, 6-2.
The match decision fell to court two as LSU senior James Cluskey battled with Ole Miss’ freshman standout and 30th-ranked Devin Britton. Cluskey took the first set by a 6-4 mark, but faltered in the second set as Britton posted a 6-1 score.
In a third-set standoff, Britton jumped into the early lead. Cluskey managed to close the gap to 4-3 before Britton took the next two games to clinch the match for the Rebels, 4-2. The win pushes Ole Miss’ record to 26-2 on the season.
“The future looks strong with the recruits coming in and the guys coming back,” Brown said. “I want to give a special thanks to the seniors. Michael practiced day in and day out, James helped keep the team together with his personality and understanding and Jon (Tragardh) had the chance to contribute his senior year, showing that if you stick with something, you have a chance to end on a high note.”
Both Venus and Skupski will continue into the postseason as each participates in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. The duo will enter the doubles tournament as the No. 3 seed and Venus will enter the singles portion at No. 7.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships hosted by Texas A&M begin May 20 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
#2 Ole Miss 4, #28 LSU 2
May 09, 2009
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
Singles competition
1. #7 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #16 Jonas Berg (UM) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
2. #30 Devin Britton (UM) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. #40 Kalle Norberg (UM) vs. Neal Skupski (LSU) 6-3, 3-4, unfinished
4. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Otto Sauer (UM) 6-3, 6-1
5. Marcel Thiemann (UM) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Chris Thiemann (UM) def. Cody Loup (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #2 Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. #1 Jonas Berg/Bram ten Berge (UM) 8-5
2. Devin Britton/Tucker Vorster (UM) def. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU) 8-4
3. Kalle Norberg/Otto Sauer (UM) def. Mark Bowtell/James Cluskey (LSU) 8-5
Match Notes:
LSU 11-11; National ranking #28
Ole Miss 25-2; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,1,5,6,2)
NCAA Round of 32
275-Attendance