BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team opened the 2019 season with back-to-back 4-0 sweeps against Alabama State and UAB Saturday in the Donni Leaycraft Scramble at the LSU Tennis Complex.
With the wins, LSU is 2-0 to start the season for the second consecutive year.
Co-Head Coach Chris Brandi on the Match
“We had a lot of new guys that played in their first matches for the Tigers today, and it was a lot of fun,” co-head coach Chris Brandi said. “Whenever you come out in the first matches of the year, guys can be a little nervous or have some anxiety that they have to get through, but they did a good job. We played two tough matches today against two tough teams that are well-coached. Our guys did a great job. Of course, we have a lot to work on still, but I think we will get there.
“It was a lot of fun this weekend getting to honor Donni (Leaycraft), and it was great that he was able to come with his family and talk to our guys a little bit, pump them up and tell them some of the things that they can do better from his trained eye.”
Match 1 vs. Alabama State
Singles Results
Rafael Wagner gave the Tigers the early 1-0 edge with a straight-set, 6-0, 6-1, convincing win on court two against the Hornets’ Carl-Louis Luckmann.
LSU quickly took the 3-0 lead after Joey Thomas nabbed his court five match against Chris Andre in consecutive 6-2 sets, and on court three, Malik Bhatnagar earned a 6-0, 6-2 win against Tomas Fernandez.
Freshman Nick Watson clinched the match for the Tigers after taking his court six match 6-3, 6-2 against Alejo Calvis.
Match 2 vs. UAB
Doubles Point
Wagner and Thomas got the match off to a quick start for the Tigers with a 6-3 win on court one against UAB’s Michal Lusovsky and Daniel Janko. LSU clinched the match on court two when senior duo Shane Monroe and Nikola Samardzic took home a 6-3 victory against Blazer pair Giovani Pasini and Nikolai Manchev.
Singles Results
Thomas picked up his second singles victory of the day on court five with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Tom El Safadi to give LSU the 2-0 lead.
To secure his first win of the dual season and put the Tigers up 3-0, Monroe defeated Roman Postolka, 6-1, 6-2, on court one.
Within two minutes of Monroe’s victory, Samardzic sealed the Tiger victory with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court six against Giovani Pasini.
Next Up
The Tigers will host South Florida, UL-Lafayette, Nicholls, Lamar, New Orleans, Georgia State and Penn State in the Jerry Simmons Invitational January 26-27 at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Social Center
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.
LSU 4, Alabama State 0
Singles Competition
1. Shane Monroe (LSU) vs. Ion Efrim (ALST) 6-4, 3-1, unfinished
2. Rafael Wagner (LSU) def. Carl-Louis Luckmann (ALST) 6-0, 6-1
3. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) def. Tomas Fernandez (ALST) 6-0, 6-2
4. Boris Kozlov (LSU) vs. Alexis Collard (ALST) 6-1, 5-5, unfinished
5. Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Chris Andre (ALST) 6-2, 6-2
6. Nick Watson (LSU) def. Alejo Calvis (ALST) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: Singles (2,5,3,6)
LSU 4, UAB 0
Singles Competition
1. Shane Monroe (LSU) def. Roman Postolka (UAB) 6-1, 6-2
2. Rafael Wagner (LSU) vs. Nikolai Manchev (UAB) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
3. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) vs. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
4. Boris Kozlov (LSU) vs. Daniel Janko (UAB) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
5. Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Tom el Safadi (UAB) 6-2, 6-0
6. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Rafael Wagner/Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Michal Lusovsky/Daniel Janko (UAB) 6-3
2. Shane Monroe/Nikola Samardzic (LSU) def. Giovani Pasini/Nikolai Manchev (UAB) 6-3
3. Malik Bhatnagar/Nick Watson (LSU) vs. Roman Postolka/Jasper van Kleef (UAB) 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,1,6)