COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina defeated LSU for the first time since February of 1989, in men’s tennis action Sunday as the Gamecocks beat the 17th-ranked Tigers, 4-2.
LSU falls to 12-5 overall and 5-4 in the SEC, while South Carolina ups its second mark to 11-6 and 3-5 in the league. The win was South Carolina’s first in the last 15 tries against LSU and the first in league play involving the two teams.
USC won the doubles point as its number one and two teams downed nationally-ranked LSU duos. Seth Rose and Carl Wermee downed 29th-ranked Daniel Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka, 8-3, while Gulilluame Legat and Marcus Westman downed 40th-ranked Sanjin Sadovich and Jesse Smatt, also by an 8-3 count.
Things didn’t go much better in singles play as LSU was able to only get wins at No.2 singles from 64-ranked Daniel Kiernan, who beat Rose, 4-6, 7-5, 5-2 retired. The other LSU win came from No. 5 singles as Jesse Smatt downed Marcus Westman, 6-3, 7-6.
The big win for South Carolina came in the No. 1 singles spot as No. 32 Guilluame Legat downed 10-ranked Ajay Ramaswami, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Tigers continue on the road next week, going to Dallas to take on SMU on Wednesday, before traveling to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on Saturday.
South Carolina 4, LSU 2
Doubles:
No. 1 Seth Rose-Carl Wermee (USC) d. Daniel Kiernan-Sebastian Rutka, 8-3
No. 2 Guilluame Legat-Marcus Westman (USC) d. Sanjin Sadovich-Jesse Smatt, 8-3.
South Carolina wins the doubles point.
Singles:
No.1 Guilluame Legat (USC) d. Ajay Ramaswami (LSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Daniel Kiernan (LSU) d. Seth Rose (USC), 4-6, 7-5, 5-2, retired
No. 3 David Nelson (USC) d. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU), 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 Carl Wermee (USC) vs. Sebastian Rutka (LSU), suspended
No. 5 Jesse Smatt (LSU) d. Marcus Westman (USC), 6-3, 7-6
No. 6 Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) d. Anthony Mateljan (LSU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.