BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s tennis team fell 4-0 to No. 15 Florida Sunday in the final home match of the season at W. T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
“Against Florida, they’re a little higher-level,” said head coach Jeff Brown about the comparison between South Carolina and Florida. “They really make you pay for your mistakes just a little bit more. I felt like we didn’t play our best. (Florida) finished us off, and South Carolina didn’t. I think our guys are doing everything they can. They’re young, and they’re working hard.”
Florida took the first doubles match as Andrew Korinek and Boris Arias fell 8-2 to the Gators’ Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin on court three. Chris Simpson and Justin Butsch struck back in the No. 2 spot with an 8-3 triumph against Florida’s Diego Hidalgo and Michael Alford. With all eyes on the 70th-ranked pair of Tam Trinh and Eric Perez on court one, the duo was unable to pull through and the Gators took the doubles point.
Court six gave Florida its second point of the day as Tam Trinh fell 6-1, 6-2 to the Gators’ Elliot Orkin. The Gators’ No. 108 Florent Diep added another point to the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Justin Butsch on court two, and the No. 3 seeds wrapped up competition as the Gators’ Maxx Lipman snatched a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Arias.
Before Florida clinched the match, each court held a tight score. Courts one and five proceeded into a tiebreak for the first set, and both resulted in a Gator point.
The court one battle between evenly-matched No. 77 Simpson and Florida’s 78th-ranked Gordon Watson resulted in a neck-and-neck battle. With an unfinished score, they left the second set 5-5.
#15 Florida 4, #61 LSU 0
Singles competition
1. #77 Chris Simpson (LSU) vs. #78 Gordon Watson (UF) 6-7 (2-7), 5-5, unfinished
2. #108 Florent Diep (UF) def. Justin Butsch (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Maxx Lipman (UF) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Andrew Korinek (LSU) vs. #81 Diego Hidalgo (UF) 2-6, 4-5, unfinished
5. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) vs. Michael Alford (UF) 6-7 (1-7), 3-4, unfinished
6. Elliot Orkin (UF) def. Tam Trinh (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Gordon Watson/Florent Diep (UF) def. #70 Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) 8-3
2. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Diego Hidalgo/Michael Alford (UF) 8-3
3. Maxx Lipman/Elliot Orkin (UF) def. Andrew Korinek/Boris Arias (LSU) 8-2
Match Notes:
Florida 10-7 (5-3); National ranking #15
LSU 11-10 (2-7); National ranking #61
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,3)