ATHENS, GA.—The LSU men’s tennis team fell in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament to one-seed Florida, 4-1, Friday afternoon in Athens, Georgia.
In doubles, Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter shut out #37 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar on court two, 6-0, but that was all for LSU. Florida’s Duarte Vale and Nate Bonetto swept Ben Koch and Nick Watson, 6-0, then No. 10 Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton defeated Vlad Lobak and Ronald Hohmann, 6-2, to clinch the doubles point.
Florida kept going in singles, taking the first set on five of the six courts. Boris Kozlov was the only Tiger to win the first set, defeating No. 116 Josh Goodger in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The top-ranked player in the nation, No. 1 Ben Shelton, defeated No. 42 Ronald Hohmann in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Mattias Siimar defeated Joao Graca, 6-2, 6-3, and No. 27 Sam Riffice clinched the match after defeating Vlad Lobak, 6-1, 6-4. Kent Hunter and Gabriel Diaz Freire’s matches went unfinished, but Hunter was in a third set, 6-3, 3-6, 0-1, and Diaz Freire was leading 5-3 in the second set.
Next Up
The Tigers will await their fate for the NCAA D1 Men’s Tennis Championships, which begin on May 6. The NCAA Selection Show will take place at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 2, on NCAA.com.
#3 Florida 4, #42 LSU 1
Singles competition
- #1 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #42 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
- #27 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-1, 6-4
- #87 Duarte Vale (UF) vs. Kent Hunter (LSU) 6-3, 3-6, 0-1, unfinished
- #122 Andy Andrade (UF) vs. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) 6-2, 3-5, unfinished
- Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Joao Graco (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
- Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. #116 Josh Goodger (UF) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
- #10 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. Vlad Lobak/Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-2
- Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) def. #37 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) 6-0
- Duarte Vale/Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Ben Koch/Nick Watson (LSU) 6-0
Match Notes:
LSU 15-11; National ranking #42
Florida 21-2; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,5,2)