BATON ROUGE— The LSU men’s tennis team split their doubleheader Sunday afternoon, losing to South Carolina, 4-2, but sweeping Nicholls, 4-0, at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The Tigers stand at 10-5 on the year but fall to 1-3 in conference play.
South Carolina
Doubles
LSU started the match off on a high note, winning the doubles point like they have much of the season. The Gamecocks started off by taking the first doubles match on court one, defeating Ronald Hohmann and Daniel Moreno, 6-2. The LSU duos on court two and court three would have to be victorious for the doubles point and they did just that. The senior/junior combination of Rafael Wagner and Joey Thomas took down South Carolina’s Connor Thomson and Phillip Jordan, 6-2. The sophomores Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson kept it close with Thomas Brown and Daniel Rodrigues, deadlocked at 4-4 when the second match ended. They didn’t drop a game after that, winning the match and securing the doubles point, 6-4.
SinglesSingles went a different way for the Tigers, but they were in it until the very end. South Carolina came out on fire in singles. They quickly jumped to a 3-1 lead with wins on court one, court three, and court four. The 2019 NCAA Singles Champion, No. 40 Paul Judd, defeated Malik Bhatnagar, 6-2, 6-3. Boris Kozlov had a chance to force his match to a third set but fell short. Kozlov dropped the first set, 6-1, but led the second set 4-3. No. 45 Raphael Lambling turned it up and won the match, 6-1, 6-4. Rafael Wagner was defeated by Connor Thomson, 6-4, 6-3. Freshman Ronald Hohmann had his biggest win in his young career, defeating No. 46 Daniel Rodrigues. The tiebreak was back-and-forth with neither one being able to string together two straight points. Deadlocked at 9-9, Hohmann was able to do that, taking the victory, 6-4. 7-6(9). The match came down to courts five and six with LSU in position to come back and take the match. Freshman Tomas Descarrega was up in the third set, 4-3, but suffered a lower-leg injury mid-set. Although he was unable to move at his full potential, he fought a valiant effort to complete the match. He finished it, but wasn’t able to take the match, falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, giving South Carolina the four points to win.
Nicholls State
Doubles
LSU rebounded after the South Carolina match, defeated Nicholls in quick manner. The Tigers only dropped one game when claiming the doubles point. Watson/Kozlov took down their opponent on court two with a clean 6-0 sweep. Malik Bhatnagar and senior Ruy Teixeira followed up with a 6-1 victory on court three, securing the doubles point.
Singles
Singles went much how doubles went, with Rafael Wagner, Malik Bhatnagar, and Daniel Moreno handling their opponents quickly to take the win. Wagner played a close first set on court two but won it 6-4. He came out on fire in the second set, putting away his opponent, 6-4, 6-0. Malik Bhatnagar followed suit, putting LSU up 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory. Daniel Moreno received his second singles victory of the dual season on court five, completing the sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Up Next
The Tigers stay home for an out-of-conference, battle-of-the-Tigers, taking on the Memphis Tigers at 4:00 p.m. at the LSU Tennis Complex.
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, Instagram and Facebook.
#29 South Carolina 4, #44 LSU 2
Singles (Order of Finish 1, 3, 4, 2, 5)
1. #40 Paul Jubb (SC) def. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. #46 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (11-9)
3. #45 Raphael Lambling (SC) def. #96 Boris Kozlov (LSU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Connor Thomson (SC) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Thomas Brown (SC) def. Tomas Descarrega (LSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Joey Thomas (LSU) vs. Phillip Jordan (SC) 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 2-4, unfinished
Doubles (Order of Finish 1, 2, 3)
1. Paul Jubb/Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Ronald Hohmann/Daniel Moreno (LSU) 6-2
2. Rafael Wagner/Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Connor Thomson/Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-2
3. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) def. Thomas Brown/Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-4
Match Notes:
South Carolina 9-5 (2-2 SEC); National ranking #29
LSU 9-5 (1-3 SEC); National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,4,2,5)
LSU 4, Nicholls 0
Singles (Order of Finish 2, 1, 5)
1. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) def. Ricardo Machado (NICM) 6-1, 6-4
2. Rafael Wagner (LSU) def. P. Surendra Salekar (NICM) 6-4, 6-0
3. Boris Kozlov (LSU) vs. Pavle Drobnjakovic (NICM) 6-4, 2-0, unfinished
4. Nick Watson (LSU) vs. Omar Hussein (NICM) 6-1, 3-3, unfinished
5. Daniel Moreno (LSU) def. P. Pravi Bagade (NICM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Ruy Teixeira (LSU) vs. Antoine Martin-Thiri (NICM) 6-3, 3-3, unfinished
Doubles (Order of Finish 2, 3)
1. Daniel Moreno/Ronald Hohmann (LSU) vs. Ricardo Machado/Omar Hussein (NICM) 3-2, unfinished
2. Nick Watson/Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Antoine Martin-Thiri/P. Pravi Bagade (NICM) 6-0
3. Malik Bhatnagar/Ruy Teixeira (LSU) def. P. Surendra Salekar/Pavle Drobnjakovic (NICM) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,1,5)
Official: Richie Weaver