ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 28 LSU men’s tennis team (11-3, 2-2 SEC) fell to No. 4 Georgia (11-2, 4-0 SEC) by a score of 4-2 in Athens on Sunday where the Tigers lost back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
LSU started strong by winning the doubles point before squandering their lead in singles play. The Tigers were previously undefeated when securing the doubles point as their record falls to 11-1 when taking the first point.
“We jumped on them in doubles and had some leads on several courts,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “[Georgia] did a good job of fighting back on most of those courts and closing out the matches they had leads in.”
Georgia’s singles lineup, which features three players ranked in the top 25, proved to be too much for the Tigers to overcome. Junior Justin Butsch notched the lone singles win for LSU with his 6-3, 6-3 victory on court four.
“Justin got through his match, but we needed more,” Brown said.
The LSU doubles team of junior Boris Arias and sophomore Jordan Daigle notched a win over the No. 10 ranked doubles team of Georgia juniors Austin Smith and Ben Wagland.
The Tigers look forward to a bounce-back opportunity when they return home to W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium next weekend where they will take on No. 14 Vanderbilt (11-3, 2-1 SEC) and in-state foe University of New Orleans (5-4). LSU is undefeated at home, where they have won ten consecutive matches.
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.
LSU at Georgia
March 8, 2015 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#4 Georgia 4, #28 LSU 2
Singles competition
1. #25 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #64 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #17 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #98 Chris Simpson (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #16 Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. #125 Tam Trinh (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. #119 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Ben Wagland (UGA) 6-3, 6-3
5. Nick Wood (UGA) vs. Boris Arias (LSU) 7-6 (7-5), 4-2, unfinished
6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #57 Boris Arias/Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. #10 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) 6-2
2. Eric Perez/Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Eric Diaz/Nathan Pasha (UGA) 6-0
3. Wayne Montgomery/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) vs. Justin Butsch/Chris Simpson (LSU) 4-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
LSU 11-2 (2-2); National ranking #28
Georgia 11-2 (4-0); National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,2,3,4,6)
Official: Clark Weaver T-2:08 A-376