Tigers Come Up Just Short to No. 6 South Carolina, 4-3

COLUMBIA, S.C.–The LSU men’s tennis team fell to No. 6 South Carolina, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Columbia Tennis Facility.

LSU falls to 7-4 overall and 0-2 in SEC play.

Doubles

South Carolina took a quick upper hand in doubles after Ronald Hohmann & Vlad Lobak fell on court one, 6-3. Courts two and three would go towards the Tigers, however. On court two, Kent Hunter and Gabriel Diaz Freire defeated Raphael Lambling and Carter Morgan, 6-3. The Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson duo would be the ones to clinch the doubles point on court three, 6-4.

Singles

LSU took a 1-0 lead into singles and would need three of the six courts to clinch the match. The Tigers got off to a promising start with Kent Hunter putting LSU up 2-0 after defeating South Carolina’s Jake Beasley, 6-2, 6-4. LSU took a 3-0 lead after Diaz Freire defeated Beau Pelletier, 6-3, 6-3. The Gamecocks turned it on at this point and got on the board after No. 19 Daniel Rodrigues took down No. 35 Ronald Hohmann, 6-2, 7-5. The lead was cut to 3-2 after Boris Kozlov fell on court six, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). Court two and four would come down to a third set. The Gamecocks would tie the match on court four after Joao Graca fell, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. All eyes fell on court two between Vlad Lobak and Raphael Lambling. Lobak took the first set, 7-5, but Lambling followed up with a 6-3 victory in the second set. Lambling rolled in the third set, taking the match, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, and ending the match, 4-3, in favor of South Carolina.

Next Up

The Tigers return to the LSU Tennis Complex next weekend to host Mississippi State on Friday, March 11, at 5:00 p.m. and Ole Miss on Sunday, March 13, at 1:00 p.m.

#6 South Carolina 4, #42 LSU 3

Singles

1. #19 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. #35 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
3. Kent Hunter (LSU) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-2, 6-4
4. Casey Hoole (SC) def. Joao Graca (LSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Beau Pelletier (SC) 6-3, 6-3
6. Carter Morgan (SC) def. Boris Kozlov (LSU) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles

1. Daniel Rodrigues/Beau Pelletier (SC) def. Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-3
2. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) def. Raphael Lambling/Carter Morgan (SC) 6-3
3. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) def. Jake Beasley/Casey Hoole (SC) 6-4

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,1,6,4,2)