GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The No. 32 LSU men’s tennis team clinched the doubles point, but only secured one win in singles play in a 5-2 loss to No. 2 Florida on Friday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Tigers fall to 14-6 on the season, 2-5 in SEC play. Florida improves to 16-2 overall, 8-0 in SEC.
Co-Head Coach on the Match
“For a moment there, the momentum looked like it was swinging in our favor, we just weren’t able to sustain it. Florida is ranked No. 2 for a reason and they were too good today. Doubles was a bright spot. It was good to see Boris Kozlov get a win in his home state.”
Doubles Point
Florida’s McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale took the win on court three against Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson in a 6-1 match.
Shane Monroe and Daniel Moreno knotted the score back up for LSU with a 6-3 victory at the No. 1 doubles against Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice.
Rafael Wagner and Joey Thomas clinched the match at the No. 2 doubles in a tiebreaker win against Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez, 7-6.
Singles Results
LSU held the lead going into singles, but Florida’s Ingildsen worked a quick 6-1, 6-1 win against Malik Bhatnagar to tie the score back up, 1-1.
Crawford followed with a 6-4, 6-3 victory on the top court against Wagner to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
The Gators took a 3-1 lead when Lukas Greif defeated Thomas in a 6-2, 6-4 match on court five.
Kozlov would respond to notch LSU’s only singles victory of the day. Kozlov defeated No. 29 Andres Andrade in 7-6, 6-2 match on court three.
Vale clinched the match for the Gators on court six. He took a three-set 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win against Moreno.
On court two, Monroe fell in the third set, 4-6, 6-4, 2-6 to Riffice. The match finalized the 5-2 win for the Gators.
Next Up
LSU will head to South Carolina on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. CT match against the Gamecocks. The match was originally scheduled for noon Sunday, but was moved up because of rain expected in the area.
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Tennis Match Results
LSU vs University of Florida
3/29/2019 at Gainesville, Fla.
(Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex)
#2 University of Florida 5, #32 LSU 2
Singles competition
1. #15 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. #51 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Shane Monroe (LSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
3. Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. #29 Andres Andrade (UF) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
4. #97 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Joey Thomas (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Daniel Moreno (LSU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Shane Monroe/Daniel Moreno (LSU) def. McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) 6-3
2. #51 Rafael Wagner/Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) 7-6 (9-7)
3. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Boris Kozlov/Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) 6-1
Match Notes:
LSU 14-6 (2-5 SEC); National ranking #32
University of Florida 16-2 (8-0 SEC); National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,5,3,6,2)