OXFORD, Miss. – The LSU men’s tennis team narrowly missed an upset of No. 13 Ole Miss on Sunday at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center where the Tigers fell, 4-3, to the Rebels.
?
LSU (4-7, 2-2 SEC) dropped the early doubles point to Ole Miss, but began to rally in singles starting on court five with sophomore Mark Bowtell.
?
Bowtell notched a straight-set victory over Adrian Forberg Skogeng, 6-2, 6-1, to put the Tigers on the board.
?
Neal Skupski was the next off the courts for the Tigers after he defeated No. 53 Tucker Vorster in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The victory pushed his record to an overall 6-5 over nationally-ranked opponents.
?
After Skupski’s win, the Rebels held the lead, 3-2, with two matches in progress.
?
LSU freshman Stefan Szacinski held Jonas Lutjen to a 5-4 mark in the third set when Ole Miss clinched the match on court two after Sebastian Carlsson fell in a three-set standoff to Marcel Thiemann, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Szacinski drove to win his match after he pushed to 6-4 in the final set.
?
“We were very close– a point here or there from the match going our way,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown commented. “With that being said, we need to do a better job of not giving points away. I felt we gave doubles away too quickly. Even though we didn’t play our best, I feel we could’ve won.”
?
The Tigers will return to Baton Rouge for their next action against Wake Forest on March 19 at 3 p.m. in W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. Admission to all LSU home tennis matches is free.
?
#13 Ole Miss 4, #62 LSU 3
March 14, 2010
Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center
Oxford, Miss.
?
Singles
1. #44 Neal Skupski (LSU) def. #53 Tucker Vorster (OM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. #81 Marcel Thiemann (OM) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) vs. Jonas Lutjen (OM), 7-5, 6-7, 6-4
4. Chris Thiemann (OM) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
5. Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (OM), 6-2, 6-1
6. Harry Fowler (OM) def. Olivier Borsos (LSU), 6-3, 6-0
?
Doubles
1. Vorster/Lutjen (OM) def. Anderson/Skupski (LSU), 8-4
2.? Thiemann/Thiemann (OM) def. Carlsson/Gauthier (LSU), 8-1
3.? Forberg Skogeng/Fowler (OM) vs. Szacinski/Borsos (LSU), 4-4, unfinished
?
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,5,4,1,2,3)
?