OXFORD, Miss. — The ninth-ranked LSU men’s tennis team defeated the 14th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels, 6-1, Wednesday in Oxford, Miss., to improve its Southeastern Conference record to 5-1.
“This was a really big win for us today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It keeps us in the race for a chance to win the SEC title, and I am extremely proud of the character and heart that our team showed in today’s match.”
LSU is one of the most dominant teams in the nation when playing on the road. The Tigers have not lost a road match since 1998, and are 19-0 in the past two years.
The Tigers have a 14-2 overall record and have won six-straight matches. LSU has outscored its opponents 39-3 during the six-match winning streak. The Tigers’ last lost was against seventh-ranked Florida, 4-2, in Baton Rouge on March 14.
Ole Miss falls to a 11-4 record on the season with a 3-2 mark versus conference opponents. The Rebels’ two-match winning streak was broken in Wednesday’s loss to the Tigers.
LSU jumped to an early 1-0 lead against Ole Miss by taking the doubles point. On court No. 1, the Tigers’ 14th-ranked duo of Daniel Kiernan and Michal Chmela defeated the Rebels’ 21st-ranked combination of Vikrant Chadha and James Shortall.
LSU’s Jesse Smatt and Ajay Ramaswamai then secured the point in No. 3 doubles with a win over the Rebels.
“Getting the doubles point in this match was key for us,” Brown said. “Whenever we play a team on the road it is definitely a boost for our team to get an early lead, and today it helped our confidence a lot.”
Tiger seniors, 22nd-ranked Tom Hand and 28th-ranked Chmela, were both victorious in singles play versus Ole Miss. Chmela defeated the Rebels 31st-ranked Alexander Hartman on court No. 1, while Hand outplayed 56th-ranked Anders Stenman on court No. 2.
Ed Rubin, Smatt, and Ramaswami were also victorious for LSU in singles play. Rubin won on court No. 6, while Smatt won on court No. 5, and Ramaswami defeated his Rebel opponent in No. 3 singles.
The Tigers have won four of the previous five meetings between the two schools, including a win over Ole Miss in the NCAA Quarterfinals in 1998.
The LSU Fighting Tigers will next be in action April 2, as they host SEC rival Arkansas. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.