BATON ROUGE—The LSU men’s tennis team split their Sunday doubleheader, falling to No. 4 Tennessee, 4-1, and defeating Alcorn State, 7-0, at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Tennessee
Tennessee showed why they’ve been a top-5 team all season and it started in doubles. Tennessee would drop four games throughout their two doubles wins, first with No. 20 Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui. The No. 20 duo defeated LSU’s Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter, 6-1. The Vols would clinch the doubles point after No. 72 Adam Walton and Pat Harper defeated Ronald Hohmann and Vlad Lobak, 6-3.
LSU didn’t turn the tide in singles, dropping the first set on all but one court. No. 23 Ronald Hohmann fell to No. 21 Adam Walton, 6-1, 6-1, and the Vols took a 3-0 lead after Martim Prata defeated Joao Graca, 6-2, 6-1. LSU would get one on the board after Gabriel Diaz Freire defeated Angel Diaz, 6-2, 6-4. Tennessee would put the match away after No. 40 Emile Hudd defeated Vlad Lobak, 6-4, 7-6(1).
Head Coach Andy Brandi was pleased with the Tigers singles performance this season but said doubles need improvement. “Doubles have been a disappointment; we have to get better there. In singles, the guys have competed their hearts out. They’ve found a way to get it done. Even today [Versus Tennessee], our guys were in it.”
Alcorn State
The Tigers handled business against the Braves, only dropping four games on all three courts in doubles. Hohmann and Lobak got the winning started with a 6-1 victory on court two and Diaz Freire/Hunter clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory on court one. Nick Watson and Ben Koch rounded out doubles with a 6-2 victory.
In singles, LSU switched up their singles lineup by inserting Nick Watson and Ben Koch. Each Tiger won their match in straight sets, starting off with No. 23 Hohmann taking down David Pata, 6-4, 6-1. Ben Koch stayed undefeated in his dual-season campaign (3-0), with a 6-1, 6-1, victory on court five. Baton Rouge native Nick Watson clinched the victory and picked up his first win of the 2022 dual season after defeating Santiago Rocca, 6-3, 6-0. Diaz Freire completed a perfect 2-0 day in singles with a 6-1, 6-2, route over Luka Rodic. Boris Kozlov put the match at 6-0 after a 6-2, 6-4 victory on court four. Vlad Lobak completed the sweep after taking down Lucas Dini, 6-4, 6-2.
Next Up
LSU will head on the road next weekend to face some of the SEC’s best in No. 2 Florida on Friday, April 1, and No. 8 Georgia on Sunday, April 3.
#4 Tennessee 4, #40 LSU 1
Singles
- #21 Adam Walton (UT) def. #23 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-1, 6-1
- #40 Emile Hudd (UT) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
- Kent Hunter (LSU) vs. Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) 6-7 (2-7), 3-4, unfinished
- Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Angel Diaz (UT) 6-2, 6-4
- Martim Prata (UT) def. Joao Graca (LSU) 6-2, 6-1
- Boris Kozlov (LSU) vs. Conor Gannon (UT) 5-7, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles
- #72 Adam Walton/Pat Harper (UT) def. Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-3
- #20 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) 6-1
- Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) vs. Martim Prata/Angel Diaz (UT) 2-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
Tennessee 16-5 (4-3 SEC); National ranking #4
LSU 12-6 (3-4 SEC); National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,5,4,2)
#40 LSU 7, Alcorn State 0
Singles
- #23 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) def. David Pata (ALCNM) 6-4, 6-1
- Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. Lucas Dini (ALCNM) 6-4, 6-2
- Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Luka Rodic (ALCNM) 6-1, 6-2
- Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Luka Andonov (ALCNM) 6-2, 6-4
- Ben Koch (LSU) def. Isaac Santitto (ALCNM) 6-1, 6-1
- Nick Watson (LSU) def. Santiago Rocca (ALCNM) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
- Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) def. David Pata/Lucas Dini (ALCNM) 6-1
- Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) def. Luka Andonov/Luka Rodic (ALCNM) 6-1
- Nick Watson/Ben Koch (LSU) def. Santiago Rocca/Isaac Santitto (ALCNM) 6-2
Match Notes:
Alcorn State 3-8
LSU 12-6; National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,5,6,3,4,2)