COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The No. 45 LSU men’s tennis team (3-1) lost to No. 37 Texas Christian University (2-0) by a score of 4-1 in the championship match of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff in College Station, Texas at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
No. 10 Texas A&M (1-1) defeated No. 33 San Diego (0-2) in the consolation match to secure third place.
Both TCU and LSU were confident after each team secured a ranked victory on the first day of competition. The Horned Frogs jumped on the Tigers early as LSU dropped its first doubles point of the season to open the match trailing 0-1.
“In doubles, we did not play our best point,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “We responded really well in singles as [junior] Boris [Arias] got off the court pretty quickly to tie it up.”
After LSU tied the match at 1-1, TCU clamped down and secured three more singles victories to clinch the match 4-1 in favor of the Horned Frogs. The Tigers were not able to start as quickly as they did in their win against San Diego and the early hole proved too much to overcome said Brown.
Coach Brown credited TCU’s talent and said that their ranking will rise as the season goes on.
“We know how good TCU is,” Brown said. “Their ranking (No. 37) has not caught up with how good they are. They just beat the No. 10 team (A&M) yesterday on the road. We knew we needed to work really hard to be in the match. We fought hard and we kind of know what level we are capable of if we can just improve in a few spots.”
With his victory today, Arias opens the 2015 season with four consecutive singles victories. The La Paz, Bolivia native sports a perfect 4-0 singles record since the start of dual play.
“He knows himself pretty well and he knows what he needs to have working,” Brown said. ” He is a smart, conscientious kid who takes care of his business. He does not get riled and is very calm. He just goes out and executes.”
Arias will look to continue his stellar play as the Tigers return to Baton Rouge to open a seven-match homestand beginning with No. 48 Purdue on Jan. 31.
“Purdue is coming off one of the better years in school history,” Brown said. “They will be excited to be playing in some warm weather outside. It is a big week for us to get back and rest tomorrow and get back to work on Tuesday. We will take what we did this weekend and move forward.”
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 at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
ITA Kickoff Tournament
Jan. 24, 2015
No. 37 TCU defeat No. 45 LSU, 4-1
TCU (3-0) LSU (3-1)
Singles
No 1 – Cameron Norrie (TCU) vs. Jordan Daigle (LSU) 7-5, 6-6 (4-4) unfinished
No 2 – Nick Chappell (TCU) vs. Chris Simpson (LSU) 6-4, 3-6, 3-1 unfinished
No 3 – Will Stein (TCU) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
No 4 – Arnau Dachs (TCU) def. Justin Butsch (LSU) 6-2, 6-1
No 5 – Boris Arias (LSU) def. Facundo Lugones (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
*No 6 – Guillermo Nunez (TCU) def. Simon Freund (LSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Doubles
No 1 – Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) vs. Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) 5-5 unfinished
No 2 – Cameron Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Chris Simpson/Tam Trinh (LSU) 6-3
No 3 – Arnau Dachs/Guillermo Nunez (TCU) def. Justin Butsch/Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,4,3,6)
*clinched the match