AUBURN, Ala. — The 26th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team fell a match short of picking up its second-straight upset victory on Tuesday, as the Tigers ran out of gas, 4-3, versus 12th-ranked Auburn here at the Luther Young Tennis Complex.
“We lost a tight doubles point against the No. 4 pair in the nation early in the match, and that set us back a bit,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “But I have to commend our guys on how they fought back from behind and did a great job of competing. Some of Auburn’s guys are playing outstanding tennis right now and we’ll use this as a learning experience for our younger players.”
With the loss, the Tigers dropped to an overall record of 11-4 on the season and a 4-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play. All four of LSU’s losses this season have come against teams ranked among the top 20 in the nation. The Tigers recorded their third-road loss of the season on Wednesday and fell to a 1-3 mark while playing on the road.
Auburn earned its third-SEC victory of the season and upped its overall record to 9-3. The Tigers own a 3-1 conference record and have defeated Mississippi State, Florida, and LSU this season. Auburn heads to Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday for a date with the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
The Auburn Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the contest as the nation’s fourth-ranked doubles pair of George Matijasevic and Tiago Ruffoni earned the second and deciding victory of the doubles competition. Auburn’s pair defeated LSU’s 28th-ranked combination of Dan Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka, 8-6, on court No. 1.
With the overall-match score knotted at 3-3, Auburn’s Mark Kovacs clinched the victory on court No. 4 by defeating the Tigers’ Sebastian Rutka, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
LSU’s 10th-ranked Ajay Ramaswami, Jesse Smatt and Anthony Mateljan were all victorious in singles play for the Tigers. Ramaswami defeated Matijasevic, 6-3, 6-3, on court No. 1, while Smatt recorded a win over Auburn’s Estevan Strecker in No. 5 singles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Mateljan, LSU’s junior from San Diego, Calif., outlasted Raitis Tukans, 6-4, 7-6(10), on court No. 6.
The 26th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Friday at 4 p.m. (Central time), as the Tigers take on the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
#12 Auburn: 4, #26 LSU: 3
Singles
1. #10 Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. George Matijasevic (AU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Tiago Ruffoni (AU) def. #64 Dan Kiernan (LSU), 6-3, 6-3.
3. Rameez Junaid (AU) def. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU), 6-1, 6-1.
4. Mark Kovacs (AU) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU), 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
5. Jesse Smatt (LSU) def. Estevan Strecker (AU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
6. Anthony Mateljan (LSU) def. Raitis Tukans (AU), 6-4, 7-6(10).
Doubles
1. #4 Matijasevic/Ruffoni (AU) def. #28 Kiernan/Rutka (LSU), 8-6.
2. Junaid/Kovacs (AU) def. #40 Smatt/Sadovich (LSU), 8-4.
3. Ramaswami/Mateljan (LSU) def. Strecker/Tukans (AU), 8-4.