BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU men’s tennis team (2-0) started the season with a strong showing in their Sunday double header featuring victories against Lamar University (6-1) and Nicholls State University (7-0) at W. T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The Tigers faced Lamar in their first dual match of the spring season as they came out fast to win five of six singles matches in straight sets, after winning the doubles point. The team supported their quick start with a strong finish as they confidently clinched the victory.
Head coach Jeff Brown was happy with the performance against Lamar who was fresh off an upset victory over No. 66 Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.
“They got our attention yesterday with their upset over a ranked ULL team which helped to crystallize our focus,” Brown said. “There was a lot of good energy and excitement. The guys were playing hard and we want to build on that in our next match.”
After notching their first dual victory of the season, LSU was determined to avoid a letdown against Nicholls State. Brown said staying fresh and energized was key to a strong second-match performance.
“The second match of the day can be a challenge,” Brown said. “The guys have to come out with energy. We have to move forward and try to keep building confidence going into the next match.”
The Tigers again started fast, clinching the doubles point behind the teams of junior Tam Trinh and sophomore Eric Perez and senior Chris Simpson and junior Justin Butsch. LSU proceeded to win three consecutive singles points to clinch the match. LSU did not stop there, as the Tigers went on to earn their first sweep of the season.
Simpson exemplified the Tigers’ focus who won his match 6-4, 6-1. The lone LSU senior finished the match winning 12 of the final 14 games after falling behind 0-3 in the first set.
“I was down 3-0 and I was missing a lot of easy balls,” Simpson said. “Ï did not lose confidence because I knew I was playing well and I was able to turn it around.”
Next up for LSU is an 11 a.m. road contest against No. 32 San Diego on Friday, Jan. 23 in College Station, Texas as part of the ITA Kickoff Tournament.
“It was very important that everyone was able to build confidence going into next weekend,” Brown said. “This was a good set up for next weekend at the ITA Kickoff Tournament and we should be playing our best for San Diego on Friday.”
For up-to-date information and behind the scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @lsutennis and on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/lsutennis.
Lamar vs LSU
Jan 18, 2015 at Baton Rouge
(Dub Robinson Stadium)
#45 LSU 6, Lamar 1
Singles competition
1. Nikita Lis (LAMAR) def. #67 Tam Trinh (LSU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. #55 Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Michael Feucht (LAMAR) 6-2, 6-1
3. #111 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LAMAR) 6-4, 7-5
4. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-3
5. Simon Freund (LSU) def. Juuso Laitinen (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-2
6. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) def. Mikko Rajamaki (LAMAR) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Boris Arias/Jordan Daigle (LSU) vs. #29 Michael Feucht/Nikita Lis (LAMAR) 4-4, unfinished
2. #52 Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem/Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-0
3. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Juuso Laitinen/Mikko Rajamaki (LAMAR) 6-2
Match Notes:
Lamar 1-1
LSU 2-0; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,5,4,3,6,1)
Court 1 doubles went unfinished at 4-4
Court 1 singles was decided in a “super tiebreaker”
Nicholls vs LSU
Jan 18, 2015 at Baton Rouge
(Dub Robinson Stadium)
#45 LSU 7, Nicholls 0
Singles competition
1. #55 Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Sam Meessen (NICM) 6-4, 6-1
2. #67 Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Partha Adavelly (NICM) 7-5, 6-1
3. #111 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Evan Karatzas (NICM) 6-1, 6-2
4. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Bernard Wezeman (NICM) 2-6, 6-0, 7-6
5. Simon Freund (LSU) def. Kieran Cronin (NICM) 6-2, 6-2
6. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) def. Max Sinn (NICM) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #52 Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) def. Bernard Wezeman/Kieran Cronin (NICM) 6-4
2. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Sam Meessen/Lukas Clemens (NICM) 6-2
3. Boris Arias/Simon Freund (LSU) vs. Partha Adavelly/Evan Karatzas (NICM) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Nicholls 0-1
LSU 2-0; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,2,6,4)
Court 3 doubles ended unfinished at 5-4