AUSTIN, TEXAS—The LSU men’s tennis team’s 2021-22 season came to an end after falling, 4-0, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center.
Though the final score was a sweep, the Tigers made it much closer than the final indicated. LSU looked to be controlling doubles as Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak led 4-3, Kent Hunter/Gabriel Diaz Freire lead 5-4, and Ben Koch/Nick Watson lead 5-4. Hunter and Diaz Freire would close out their match, 6-4, but Texas’s Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri went up 6-5. Huang and Talluri would close the match out, 7-5, and shortly after, No. 8 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab clinched the doubles point on court one, 6-4.
The Longhorns would start to roll in singles as they took the first set on all six courts. LSU came fighting back, however, as Vlad Lobak, Kent Hunter, and Boris Kozlov all won their respective second sets. Texas would take a 2-0 lead after Gabriel Diaz Freire was defeated by Siem Woldeab, 7-5, 6-4. After Chih Chi Huang defeated Joao Graca, 6-4, 6-4, the Tigers would need the remaining courts to get the victory. On court one, Ronald Hohmann dropped his first-set tiebreak, 10-8, then fell in the second set to No. 69 Eliot Spizzirri, 7-6(8), 6-4, as the Longhorns advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Upon conclusion, Vlad Lobak led, 3-6, 6-1, 3-1 on court two, Kent Hunter led 5-7, 6-2, 2-1 on court three, and Boris Kozlov was not far behind in the third set, trailing 1-6, 6-4, 1-2 on court five.
LSU finished their season with a 16-12 record as they sit at No. 34 in the ITA rankings.
Not all of LSU is done, however, as Ronald Hohmann is set to compete in the NCAA individual championships on May 23-28 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Illinois. More information regarding Hohmann to the NCAA individual championships can be found here.
#12 Texas 4, #34 LSU 0
Singles competition
- #69 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #29 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-4
- #34 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) vs. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-3, 1-6, 1-3, unfinished
- #92 Richard Ciamarra (UT) vs. Kent Hunter (LSU) 7-5, 2-6, 1-2, unfinished
- Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) 7-5, 6-4
- Cleeve Harper (UT) vs. Boris Kozlov (LSU) 6-1, 4-6, 2-1, unfinished
- Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. Joao Graca (LSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
- #8 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. Vlad Lobak/Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-4
- Kent Hunter/Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. #4 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-4
- Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri (UT) def. Ben Koch/Nick Watson (LSU) 7-5
Match Notes:
LSU 16-12; National ranking #34
Texas 18-10; National rankin