HOUSTON — The LSU men’s tennis team started off strong Friday, winning six out of their eight single matches, at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.
Senior David Roberts, juniors Stefan Szacinski and Roger Anderson, sophomores James Turbervill and Matt Zachary and freshman Chris Simpson all racked up wins in singles play for the Tigers, defeating players from Arkansas, Tulane and Rice.
“The guys played really well in singles today winning six out of their eight matches,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “We look to maintain this high level in singles tomorrow as well as improve in our doubles play.”
In doubles, Szacinski and Anderson paired up to defeat Tulane’s Cedric Rutsaert and Iain Sneddon, 8-2, while Bowtell and Simpson fell to Arkansas tandem Greg Lehmann and Mike Ward 9-7 in a tough match. Turbervill and Zachary, and Knights and Roberts represented the Tigers well in flight B, but could not hold on against their respective opponents.
The tournament will continue tomorrow. Time of play is yet to be announced.
Rice Fall Invitational
September 30 – October 2
Houston, Texas (Jake Hess Tennis Stadium)
SINGLES
Flight A Singles
Stefan Szacinski (LSU) def. Nikolas Zogaj (Arkansas) 7-5, 0-6, 6-3
Sam Garforth-Bles (Rice) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 7-5, 6-3
Flight B Singles
Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Takuma Ohasi (Tulane) 6-1, 6-1
Phillip Seifert (Rice) def. Tom Knights (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
Flight C Singles
Roger Anderson (LSU) def. Iain Sneddon (Tulane) 6-4, 6-3
James Turbervill (LSU) def. Justin To (Rice) 4-1 (def, inj)
Flight D Singles
Matt Zachary (LSU) def. Matt Walters (Arkansas) 6-4, 6-0
David Roberts (LSU) def. Andy Wang (Rice) 6-1, 6-1
DOUBLES
Flight A Doubles
Stefan Szacinski/Roger Anderson (LSU) def. Cedric Rutsaert/Iain Sneddon (Tulane) 8-2
Greg Lehmann/Mike Ward (Arkansas) def. Mark Bowtell/Chris Simpson (LSU) 9-7
Flight B Doubles
Leif Berger/Phillip Seifert (Rice) def. James Turbervill/Matt Zachary (LSU) 8-6
Takuma Ohashi/Coby Kramer-Golinkoff (Tulane) def. Tom Knights/David Roberts (LSU) 8-6