LEXINGTON, Ky. — The 13th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team was knocked out of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday, as the Fighting Tigers fell to the 17th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 4-3, in an epic battle here at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky.
“It was a real war in this match today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We lost a lot of close points at the end of the match, and with a couple of breaks here and there, we could have easily won. I have to give Alabama a lot of credit. They have been playing really well as of late and they are a very good team. We’ll just take these next couple of weeks to overcome our injuries and get healthy for the NCAA tournament.”
With the overall score of the match tied at 3-3, Alabama’s Stephen Mitchell clinched the Tide’s upset win over the Tigers by outlasting LSU’s Sanjin Sadovich in a 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(5), marathon contest on court No. 4. The Crimson Tide freshman earned the match-winning victory by picking up two sets by way of tiebreakers. Mitchell outscored Sadovich 7-4 in the first-set tiebreaker and then 7-5 in the deciding third-set tiebreaker.
The Tigers dropped to an overall record of 14-7 on Friday and fell to a 7-5 mark against conference opponents. After winning back-to-back SEC tournament titles in 1998 and 1999, LSU has yet to record a conference tournament victory. Last season, the Tigers were defeated by Georgia, 4-1, in a second-round match-up.
With the win, Alabama advanced to the semifinal round of the SEC tournament where the Tide will face second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday. Alabama improved to an overall record of 19-8 with the victory and upped its conference mark to 7-6 this season. Friday’s match was the first post-season contest between the schools, and despite the loss LSU owns the all-time series lead, 32-19-1.
The Tigers took an early lead in the match by winning the doubles point.
LSU’s 30th-ranked doubles combination of Dan Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka topped Alabama’s pair of Max Belski and William Boyles, 8-4, on court No. 1 to clinch the Tigers’ initial point. The combination of Ajay Ramaswami and Anthony Mateljan earned a victory in the opening doubles match on court No. 2, 8-4.
While playing on the indoor courts due to inclimate weather, LSU increased its lead to 3-0 with victories on courts No. 2 and 3. The Tigers’ 47th-ranked Kiernan notched his 24th victory of the season on Friday by defeating Alabama’s Susheel Narla in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on court No. 2. LSU’s Jesse Smatt was victorious on court No. 3 against the Crimson Tide’s Chris Gostek, 6-3, 6-3, for the Tigers’ third and final-team point.
“I think that playing indoors was definitely a factor in the match,” Brown said. “I’m not saying that we would have definitely won the match if it was played outdoors, but I know that we are not a great indoors team. We don’t have the luxury of being able to extensively practice indoors, while Alabama does.”
Alabama then went on to win the final-four matches of the contest on courts No. 1, 4, 5, and 6.
The Tide’s 21st-ranked Belski knocked off LSU’s 10th-ranked Ramaswami in the No. 1 singles contest, while the Tigers’ Mateljan fell to Chris McRae, 6-2, 7-6(6), on court No. 5. Christian Broderson, Alabama’s No. 6 singles player, tied the match at 3-3 by defeating the Tigers’ John Gray Pou, 6-4, 6-2.
The LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on May 12, as the Tigers begin NCAA tournament play. LSU’s first-round opponent and site will be announced by the NCAA on May 4.
#17 Alabama: 4, #13 LSU: 3
Singles
1. #21 Max Belski (UA) def. #10 Ajay Ramaswami (LSU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
2. #47 Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. Susheel Narla (UA), 6-3, 6-4.
3. Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Chris Gostek (UA), 6-3, 6-3.
4. Stephen Mitchell (UA) def. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU), 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(5).
5. Chris McRae (UA) def. Anthony Mateljan (LSU), 6-2, 7-6(6).
6. Christian Broderson (UA) def. John Gray Pou (LSU), 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles
1. #30 Kiernan/Rutka (LSU) def. Belski/Boyles (UA), 8-4.
2. Ramaswami/Mateljan (LSU) def. Gostek/Mitchell (UA), 8-4.
3. Smatt/Sadovich (LSU) vs. Narla/McRae (UA), suspended.