LSU Upsets No. 20 Ole Miss; Sweep UNO

BATON ROUGE— The LSU men’s tennis team defeated No. 20 Ole Miss, 4-3, and New Orleans, 7-0, Sunday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.

The last time LSU defeated an ITA top-20 opponent was April 15th, 2021, when the Tigers defeated No. 18 Alabama, 4-1.

Ole Miss Match

In doubles, Ronald Hohmann and Vlad Lobak took down the No. 2 ITA ranked duo in the nation of Finn Reynolds and Lukas Engelhardt on court one, 6-3. The last time a Tiger took down a top-5 opponent, Joao Graca and Joey Thomas took down then Tennessee’s No. 3 ITA-ranked Pat Harper/Adam Walton, 6-4, on April 9, 2021. The doubles point would not go LSU’s way, however. Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter were defeated, 6-0, on court two, then the Rebels clinched the doubles point after Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson fell on court three, 6-2.

LSU kept their composure after losing the doubles point, winning five of the six courts in singles.  ITA-ranked No. 50 Hohmann made quick work on court one, defeating No. 21 Nikola Slavic in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-1. Kent Hunter would give the Tigers the lead after taking down Hallqiust Lithen, 6-3, 6-4. 4. Lukas Engelhardt would defeat Gabriel Diaz Freire, 6-4, 6-2, but the Tigers took the lead back after Lobak defeated Finn Reynolds, 6-4, 6-4. LSU would complete the upset after Joao Graca took down Simon Junk, 7-6(5), 7-5. Boris Kozlov would finish the match off and giving LSU a 5-2 victory after defeated No. 104 Jan Soren Hain, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

New Orleans Match

LSU would have a perfect day in their second match against UNO. LSU dropped three games in doubles as Hohmann/Lobak would defeat Lagarde/Volz, 6-2, and LSU clinched the doubles point after Ben Koch and Nick Watson defeated Armbruster/Tangri, 6-1.

LSU went perfect in singles, all six courts ending in straight-set victories. Kent Hunter and Vlad Lobak shutout their opponents, 6-0, 6-0, on courts two and three. Ronald Hohmann would cap off his 4-0 day with a victory on court one, 6-2, 6-2. Ben Koch made his dual season debut in singles and only dropped three games in his 6-2, 6-1, route on court six. Boris Kozlov would put the Tigers up 6-0 after a 6-2, 6-1, victory on court five and Diaz Freire capped off the sweep with a 6-4, 6-1, on court five.

LSU is back at it next week when they travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt on Friday, March 18, then to Tuscaloosa on Sunday, March 20.

#50 LSU 5, #20 Ole Miss 2

Singles

1. #50 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. #21 Nikola Slavic (OM) 6-2, 6-1
2. Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. Finn Reynolds (OM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Kent Hunter (LSU) def. J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) 6-3, 6-4
4. Lukas Engelhardt (OM) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Joao Graca (LSU) def. Simon Junk (OM) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
6. Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. #104 Jan Soren Hain (OM) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4

Doubles

1. Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. #2 Finn Reynolds/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 6-3
2. Jan Soren Hain/Simon Junk (OM) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) 6-0
3. Nikola Slavic/J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) def. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) 6-2

Ole Miss 11-5; National ranking #20

LSU 8-5; National ranking #50

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

Official: Richie Weaver

LSU 7, New Orleans Privateers 0

Singles

1. #50 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. Marcel Volz (UNO) 6-2, 6-2
2. Kent Hunter (LSU) def. Max Heinzel (UNO) 6-0, 6-0
3. Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. David Tesic (UNO) 6-0, 6-0
4. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Espen Lagarde (UNO) 6-4, 6-1
5. Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Luke Joujan (UNO) 6-2, 6-1
6. Ben Koch (LSU) def. Matthew Armbruster (UNO) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles

1. Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. Espen Lagarde/Marcel Volz (UNO) 6-2
2. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) vs. Max Heinzel/Akos Kotorman (UNO) 4-2, unfinished
3. Ben Koch/Nick Watson (LSU) def. Matthew Armbruster/Dhruv Tangri (UNO) 6-1

Match Notes:

New Orleans Privateers 12-3

LSU 9-5

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