BATON ROUGE, La. – Kicking off the final weekend of home matches for the 2016 season, the No. 44 LSU Men’s tennis team defeated No. 59 South Carolina 4-3 Friday at the LSU Tennis Complex with Justin Butsch clinching on court two.
“As a coach you are constantly aware of the number four, that it takes to win,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “Sometimes you’re hoping against hope but today I felt that it was really possible, especially once Boris (Arias) got to a third set, Justin (Butsch) got to a third set and Jordan (Daigle) closed out.”
Butsch’s victory came only after four hours on and off the court due to two 30-minute weather delays. The Tigers came out ready to fight and proved themselves by taking the first two doubles courts to win the doubles point.
Court two in doubles started the momentum with Justin Butsch and Tam Trinh mounting a 6-2 win over South Carolina’s Thomas Mayronne and Sam Swank. LSU’s No. 10 All-American duo of Jordan Daigle and Boris Arias finished off the doubles portion by defeating Gabriel Friedrich and Harrison O’Keefe, 6-4.
The competition continued to singles but could only complete the first sets in five out of the six courts before having to take a break due to lightning. Butsch, caught mid-tiebreaker, was forced to resume after taking 30 minutes away from the match and suffered a 7-6 (11-9) loss in the first set.
Resuming the singles competition, LSU took losses on the first three courts completed. With the Gamecocks ahead 3-1, something had to change for the Tigers to find the victory. Daigle, who has had a rough time in conference play this season, was able to be the shift for his team by finishing off USC’s only ranked player in No. 93 Gabriel Friedrich 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.
LSU’s final two courts forced themselves to third sets with second set victories from both Butsch and Arias. On court five, Monroe, La. native and South Carolina team member Thomas Mayronne double faulted at game point, ahead 2-1 and caused a total alteration in the match’s momentum.
Mayronne only got one more game against Arias, providing LSU with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on court five. Fans looked to Butsch to finish off his opponent, Andrew Schafer on court two to carry the Tigers to success. Butsch only gave up one game to Schafer and after breaking the 1-1 tie in the third set Butsch took charge and conquered in a 6-1 third set victory to clinch.
“We’ve been through so much this year,” Butsch said. “So much talk, so much learning. It’s awesome seeing it slowly coming together.”
The Tigers look to complete their home slate with two Sunday matches, against No. 7 Georgia and UNO. The Georgia match will also serve as senior day, honoring Boris Arias, Andrew Korinek and Tam Trinh with a brief presentation between doubles and singles.
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.
South Carolina vs LSU
4/1/2016 at Baton Rouge (LSU Tennis Complex)
#44 LSU 4, #59 University of South Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #69 Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. #93 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
2. Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Andrew Schafer (USC) 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-1
3. Harrison O’Keefe (USC) def. Gabor Csonka (LSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Alex Fennell (USC) def. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Thomas Mayronne (USC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Wood Benton (USC) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #10 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Harrison O’Keefe (USC) 6-4
2. Justin Butsch/Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Thomas Mayronne/Sam Swank (USC) 6-2
3. Andrew Korinek/Gabor Csonka (LSU) vs. Alex Fennell/Andrew Schafer (USC) 5-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
University of South Carolina 10-11 (2-5 SEC); National ranking #59
LSU 11-8 (3-5 SEC); National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,3,6,1,5,2)
A-260