BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 24 LSU men’s tennis team dropped their first home match of the season on Friday night when No. 13 Ole Miss edged the Tigers 4-3. The loss marked the second time all season LSU lost after securing the doubles point.
The match came down to court one where LSU (14-4, 4-3 SEC) sophomore Jordan Daigle battled No. 15 Ole Miss (13-5, 5-2 SEC) senior Nik Scholtz through a three-set tie breaker before falling 7-2.
“We thought we could have something special tonight but ultimately it did not happen,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “It was not [Daigle’s] match that was the differenhce. We did not play well in other spots which forced a tough situation.”
LSU fell behind one set on four of six courts as singles started and were ultimately unable to regain control.
Brown said the loss was a function of the quality of teams present in the Southeastern Conference. After a close win in Tuscaloosa last week, the Tigers fell prey to the law of averages.
“We have had several of these go our way this season,” Brown said. “In a season like this with so many quality teams you are going to win some of these and the opponent will get some. They came up with some great shots under pressure.”
The loss snapped a twelve-match home winning streak for the Tigers. LSU is now 12-1 this season at “Dub” as the Tiger faithful continue to be loud and supportive.
“We were in position to win against a good team today and the energy of the crowd had a lot to do with that,” Brown said. “We are going to carry that with us to the new stadium. It is always special to play in front of the crowd with all the energy.”
The Tigers will look to start a new winning streak on Sunday when they face No. 53 Arkansas (11-10, 1-6 SEC) at 1 p.m. CST.’
Brown said Friday’s loss does not change the importance of the Arkansas match and the team should feel confident.
“If [Ole Miss] is the thirteenth best team, then we are one point away from being 13,” Brown said of the team’s confidence. “We have a lot of good wins and this Arkansas match is a huge match. We need to be locked in on every court.”
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.
Tennis Match Results
Ole Miss vs LSU
Mar 27, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La.
(W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium)
#13 Ole Miss 4, #24 LSU 3
Singles competition
1. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM) def. #75 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6
2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Chris Simpson (LSU) 7-6, 7-5
3. Gustav Hansson (OM) def. Tam Trinh (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Boris Arias (LSU) def. William Kallberg (OM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Ricardo Jorge (OM) 6-3, 6-3
6. Vinod Gowda (OM) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #20 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) def. Zvonimir Babic/Nik Scholtz (OM) 6-4
2. Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) vs. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (OM) 4-4, unfinished
3. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. William Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 12-5 (4-2 SEC); National ranking #13
LSU 14-3 (4-2 SEC); National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,5,6,3,2,1)