Houston, Texas— The No. 49 LSU men’s tennis team improves to 8-2 on the season after defeating Rice, 4-1, in Houston, Texas, Sunday morning.
The Tigers shared the court with the LSU women’s tennis team, where they also defeated Rice 4-1. This is the third time this season both LSU tennis teams shared the court at the same time and the first away match. Co-head coach Chris Brandi reflected on being able to play simultaneously. “It was a great day for college tennis. It’s always a lot of fun to play at the same time as our women and I’m glad the Tigers came away with 2 W’s”
LSU started the windy Sunday morning off with a doubles victory, one of the Tigers’ strong suits this season. The No. 59 ranked duo of senior Rafael Wagner and freshman Ronald Hohmann stayed undefeated with a 6-4 victory. Sophomores Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson secured the point with another 6-4 victory. Brandi credits LSU’s doubles play for a lot of their success this season, saying, “I think we (LSU) came out with a little more energy than Rice in doubles and that was the difference. We won 4-1, but credit to Rice, it was closer than the score indicated.”
Singles started off with LSU quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Freshman Ronald Hohmann took care of business on court two with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Karol Paluch. Shortly after, No. 99 Boris Kozlov continued his strong sophomore campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jacob Eskeland. Joey Thomas finished the match off with a victory over Wes Barnett. Thomas dominated the first set 6-1 and clinched the back-and-forth second set, winning 6-1, 7-5. Malik Bhatnagar was defeated on court one for Rice’s only win of the day, 7-6(6), 6-0.
Up Next
LSU kicks off SEC play with a home match against Vanderbilt, next Friday, February 28th at 5:00 p.m. Admission into the LSU Tennis Complex is free.
Follow the Tigers Online
For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @LSUTennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
#49 LSU 4, Rice 1
Singles
1. Sumit Sarkar (RICE) def. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
2. Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. Karol Paluch (RICE) 6-1, 6-3
3. #99 Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Jacob Eskeland (RICE) 6-2, 6-4
4. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (RICE) vs. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 4-6, 6-3, 3-1, unfinished
5. Conrad Russell (RICE) vs. Tomas Descarrega (LSU) 5-7, 5-5, unfinished
6. Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Wes Barnett (RICE) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles
1. Conrad Russell/Sumit Sarkar (RICE) vs. Daniel Moreno/Joey Thomas (LSU) 5-5, unfinished
2. #59 Ronald Hohmann/Rafael Wagner (LSU) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz/Karol Paluch (RICE) 6-4
3. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) def. Eric Rutledge/Adam Oscislawski (RICE) 6-4
Match Notes:
Tigers 8-2; National ranking #49
Rice 3-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,3,1,6)