BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 33 LSU men’s tennis team (13-3, 3-2 SEC) defended their home court for the 11th and 12th time in as many home matches this season when they defeated No. 11 Vanderbilt (13-4, 3-2 SEC) and the University of New Orleans (6-6) on Sunday.
The Tigers used a strong doubles effort against Vanderbilt, including a win over the No. 1 team of Vanderbilt senior Gonzales Austin and junior Rhys Johnson, to kick start a strong singles performance which saw them take five of six first sets before junior Tam Trinh clinched the match on court three.
“We really need to make sure we understand how many things we did right today,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “We did a great job of sticking with game plans on several courts and closing the door when we were able to.”
The doubles win was the second top-ten victory for the LSU team of junior Boris Arias and sophomore Jordan Daigle in two weeks as they defeated the No. 10 Georgia team last week in Athens.
The duo is currently ranked No. 18 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, but Brown expects that ranking to continue to rise in the future.
“[Arias and Daigle] is one of the top five teams and it just takes time to work out sometimes,” Brown said. “For them to step up and be the deciding point against the No. 1 team is really a monumental effort.”
Brown also credited the strong fan presence at the match for helping his team continue to dominate at home. The purple and gold faithful made life difficult for Vanderbilt, who defeated a pair of ranked Southeastern Conference teams in Auburn (No. 39) and Florida (No. 18) a week ago.
The Tigers enjoyed their largest crowd of the season against Vanderbilt as 500 fans lined the stands at Dub Stadium.
“We are extremely proud of the crowds that we have been able to get and we plan to keep building on that,” Brown said. “Vanderbilt had to come here and play in the heat and it was not an easy environment to say the least. There was 500 people that cheered and pushed us to another level.”
LSU got an opportunity to show off their depth in a 7-0 sweep over New Orleans where several players got an opportunity to compete.
Junior Harrison Kennedy, sophomore Eric Perez and freshman Simon Freund made the most of their chance as all three players notched straight-set victories.
“We had some guys play that do not get to play as much that we are going to have to depend on maybe this year and definitely in the future,” Brown said. “It was good that they got some work in.”
The Tigers frequently preach the importance of focus in a double header situation and that focus showed on Sunday as the team did not drop a single set to New Orleans after the big win earlier in the day.
Brown was complimentary of the maturity his team showed and believes both wins on Sunday set LSU up for a successful road trip next weekend when they travel to No. 66 Alabama (12-9, 2-2 SEC) and No. 42 Mississippi State (11-4, 2-1 SEC).
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.
Vanderbilt vs LSU
Mar 15, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La.
(Dub Stadium)
#33 LSU 4, #11 Vanderbilt 1
Singles competition
1. #10 Gonzales Austin (VANDY) def. #85 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #117 Chris Simpson (LSU) vs. Rhys Johnson (VANDY) 6-3, 5-6, unfinished
3. Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 7-5, 6-4
4. Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Kris Yee (VANDY) 6-2, 6-1
5. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Suresh Eswaran (VANDY) 6-3, 6-3
6. Andrew Korinek (LSU) vs. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VANDY) 6-3, 4-6, 2-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #18 Boris Arias/Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. #1 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VANDY) 6-4
2. Baker Newman/Pen Binet (VANDY) def. Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) 6-1
3. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-1
Match Notes:
Vanderbilt 13-4 (3-2 SEC); National ranking #11
LSU 12-3, (3-2 SEC); National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,4,5,3)
New Orleans vs LSU
Mar 15, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La.
(Dub Stadium)
#33 LSU 7, New Orleans 0
Singles competition
1. #117 Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Rui Silva (UNO) 6-0, 6-2
2. Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Gonzalo Garcia (UNO) 6-3, 6-1
3. Simon Freund (LSU) def. Blake Gregor (UNO) 6-3, 6-3
4. Andrew Korinek (LSU) def. Romain Lefevre (UNO) 6-1, 6-2
5. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) def. Giacomo Adoncecchi (UNO) 6-0, 6-4
6. Eric Perez (LSU) def. Daniel Populus (UNO) 7-6, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) vs. Blake Gregor/Rui Silva (UNO) 5-4, unfinished
2. Eric Perez/Boris Arias (LSU) def. Romain Lefevre/Giacomo Adoncecchi (UNO) 6-1
3. Simon Freund/Harrison Kennedy (LSU) def. Gonzalo Garcia/Luis Albuquerque (UNO) 6-2
Match Notes: New Orleans 6-6
LSU 13-3 (3-2 SEC); National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles