BATON ROUGE — The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team built up an early 2-0 lead in the “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium on Sunday, but the seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs fought back to take a 4-3 victory in the final-singles match of the contest.
“This was a great college tennis match,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “There were two of the nation’s top teams battling out there today and it could’ve gone either way. It was another typical Southeastern Conference match that went down to the wire, and that’s what happens when all of the SEC’s 12 teams are ranked among the top 40.”
With Georgia leading the match by a score of 3-2, LSU’s 11th-ranked Ajay Ramaswami defeated the Bulldogs’ seventh-ranked Matias Boeker in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5, to even the total-team score at three. The win marked Ramaswami’s tenth victory of the season versus ranked players and improved his overall record to 19-11.
The Tigers’ Sanjin Sadovich was trailing in the third set of his match against Georgia’s 60th-ranked Chad Carlson by a count of 4-1 when LSU’s hopes for an upset fell on his shoulders. Sadovich, the talented Tiger freshman from Vancouver, Canada, fought to close the score of the match to 4-2, but the Bulldogs’ five-year senior held off the charge to clinch the match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
LSU’s four-match winning streak came to an end on Sunday, while the Bulldogs picked up their eighth-straight victory. The Tigers dropped to an overall record of 9-3 on the season and a 3-2 mark against SEC competition.
Georgia remained undefeated in SEC play with a perfect 4-0 record and improved to 14-1 overall.
The LSU men’s tennis team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Sunday’s match as the Tigers picked up the doubles point and a victory in No. 2 singles.
The Tigers’ combination of Dan Kiernan and Sebastian Rutka earned LSU’s opening point of the contest by clinching the doubles point with an 8-6 triumph over Georgia’s second-ranked pair of M. Boeker and Travis Parrot.
Kiernan then gave the Tigers’ a promising 2-0 lead in the match by dominating the Bulldogs’ 17th-ranked Lesley Joseph, 6-4, 6-2, on court No. 2.
After falling behind by a score of 2-0, Georgia showed why it is the No. 7 team in the nation by sweeping the singles matches on courts No.’s 3-6 to complete the comeback victory.
“Well, despite the loss, today’s match was a treat for the fans,” Brown said. “It was a very exciting match and I was thankful for the great support that we received from the fans. We have some of the best fans in the nation and hopefully we will continue to get the same amount of support.”
The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will next be in action on Wednesday, March 21, as the Tigers host Texas-Arlington in a non-conference matchup at 2 p.m. before facing ninth-ranked Tennessee at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.
#7 Georgia 4, #16 LSU 3
Singles
1. #11 Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. #7 Matias Boeker (UG), 7-5, 7-5.
2. Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. #17 Lesley Joseph (UG), 6-4, 6-2.
3. #60 Chad Carlson (UG) def. Sanjin Sadovich (LSU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
4. #34 Brandon Wagner (UG) def Sebastian Rutka (LSU), 6-3, 7-6(5).
5. #47 Travis Parrot (UG) def. #82 Jesse Smatt (LSU), 7-6(1), 0-6, 6-2.
6. Nicolas Boeker (UG) def. Anthony Mateljan (LSU), 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.
Doubles
1. Kiernan/Rutka (LSU) def .#2 M. Boeker/Parrott (UG), 8-6.
2. #41 Smatt/Sadovich (LSU) vs. Carlson/Nicolas Boeker (UG), Suspended.
3. Mateljan/Ramaswami (LSU) def. Joseph/Wagner (UG), 8-5.