BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team’s bid at a comeback victory over No. 15 Tennessee came up short Friday evening as the Volunteers held on for a 5-2 victory at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“I think we did get better tonight, but it’s still frustrating for everyone involved to lose,” said head coach Jeff Brown. “Some of the guys fought hard and played well enough to win but unfortunately we didn’t do that in every position.”
The loss was the seventh consecutive for the Tigers, all against teams ranked No. 25 or higher.
With the win, the Volunteers improved their overall record on the season to 9-4 (3-2 SEC) and remain in the hunt for the SEC title.
The Tigers fell behind in the match, 3-0, before freshman Jason Hazley ignited the Tigers by defeating No. 80 Mark Dietrich in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. The win was Hazley’s second in a row, and moved his season dual-match record to 5-5.
Senior Dan Kiernan followed Hazley’s win with an upset of his own knocking off No. 12 Mario Toledo, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. The win marked the first time this season Kiernan had defeated a top-50 opponent.
“I told the team that we need to compete,” Brown said. “We don’t need to be thinking about the winning and losing. “We need to be patient. “These guys are young and they are learning.”
The Tigers will try to end their slide on Sunday as the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs head to town for a home match at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
#15 Tennessee 5, LSU 2
Doubles
1. #15 Toledo/Rea (UT) def. Kiernan/Rutka (LSU), 8-2.
2. Handoyo/Carey (UT) def. Hazley/Ross (LSU), 9-8 (4)
3. Dietrich/Henderson (UT) def. Fisher/Smatt (LSU), 9-7.*
Singles
1. #7 Peter Handoyo (UT) def. Peter Richman (LSU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1*
2. Dan Kiernan (LSU) def. #12 Mario Toledo (UT), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3. Adam Carey (UT) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 7-5, 6-0
4. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. #80 Mark Dietrich (UT), 7-6 (6), 6-0
5. Simon Rea (UT) def. Cory Ross (LSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Wade Orr (UT) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4)