BATON ROUGE, La – The LSU Men’s Tennis team (9-1) defeated both UNC Wilmington (2-3) and Southern (0-2) in Sunday’s double-header at the LSU Tennis Complex. The Tigers opened the day with a 4-3 win over UNC Wilmington and ended the day with a 7-0 win over Southern.
Danny Bryan’s Thoughts
“Against UNC Wilmington we got off to a great start with a very solid doubles performance on all 3 courts,” head coach Danny Bryan said. “Singles was a battle, a lot of momentum changes. Julien continues to be dominant, George found a way to get another win, and Stef came through for us in the clutch.”
“Now we have a week off before going on the road to face a top 25 Memphis team before starting conference play.”
LSU vs. UNC Wilmington
Doubles
The Tigers began the matchday with momentum and took the doubles point. On the No. 2 doubles court, Welsh Hotard and George Stoupe teamed up against Jordi Domenech and Jonathon Baron. Hotard and Stoupe won by a score of 6-2, making their record on the No. 2 court now 5-0.
LSU clinched the doubles point on the No. 3 court with a win from Chen Dong and Julien Penzlin. The Tiger duo faced Gabe Hurtado and Bekhzod. Dong and Penzlin quickly won the point with a score of 6-3. This was only their third time teaming up together, but the duo have tallied a perfect 3-0 record.
Singles
Julien Penzlin was the first singles win of the day for the Tigers. Penzlin quickly defeated Jonathon Baron by a score of 6-3, 6-1. With the win, Penzlin improved his win streak on the No. 6 singles court to 8-0.
UNC Wilmington gained their first point with a loss from Rudy Ceccon on the No. 4 court. Ceccon fell to Gabe Hurtado by a score of 7-5, 6-2 and cut LSU’s lead to 2-1 in the match.
On the No. 3 court, No. 95 Stoupe faced Reece Falck in three sets. The first set was won by Falck by a score of 6-3. Stoupe came back in the second and third sets, winning 6-2 in set two and then 6-3 in the final set to earn another point for the Tigers and make it 3-1 on the day. . The win improved Stoupe’s singles record to 6-1 in dual matches.
Chen Dong fell in his singles match today on the No. 5 court. Dong faced Trey Mallor in three sets. In the first set, Dong lost 6-3. The second set was narrowly won by Dong, 6-3, . Mallor came back in the third set, winning 6-3 and taking the point to make the scoreline 3-2.
On the No. 1 court, Stefan Latinovic went to three sets against Harold Huens. Latinovic fell 6-2 in the first set but made a comeback in the second set, quickly winning 6-3. In the third set, Latinovic narrowly won the point by a score of 7-5 and clinched the match victory for the Tigers.
The No. 2 court was the last court to finish their singles match. Lofman and Rasamatov faced each other and Rasamatov won by a score of 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to give UNC Wilmington its third and final point of the match.
LSU vs. Southern
Doubles
LSU automatically took the No. 3 doubles court due to Southern not having a third doubles team.
On the No. 2 court, Charles Hobbs and Ben Koch made their first appearance as a team in a dual match. They clinched the doubles point for the Tigers, defeating Gabriel Inyang and Jaiden Dominguez by a score of 6-0.
Singles
LSU began the singles round with a lead of 3-0 due to Southern having a limited number of players. The No. 5 and 6 courts were automatically taken by the Tigers.
On the No. 4 court, Hobbs made his first dual singles appearance of the 2024 season. Hobbs faced Jaiden Dominguez and won by a perfect score of 6-0, 6-0 to earn his first collegiate singles win in a dual match. The win gave LSU a 4-0 lead in the match and clinched the team victory for the Tigers.
Ben Koch also won by a perfect score of 6-0, 6-0 on the No. 3 court over Inyang. Koch now has a 3-0 record in singles.
Alessio Vasquez made his first appearance on the No. 2 singles court. Vasquez faced Barnabas Kalaba and won by a score of 6-0, 6-0 to improve his singles record to 3-0 on the season.
Aleksi Lofman competed on the No. 1 court for the second time this season. Lofman faced Ngwenya and won by a score of 6-2, 6-1. The win was his third of the season and second at the No. 1 court.
Up Next
The Tigers will travel to Memphis, Tennessee to face Memphis on Friday, February 23 at 6 p.m.
Results
LSU 4 , UNCW 3
Doubles
1.Latinovic/Lofman (LSU) vs. Huens/Falck (UNCW), Unfinished
2.Hotard/Stoupe (LSU) def. Domenech/Baron (UNCW) 6-2
3.Dong/Penzlin (LSU) def. Hurtado/Rasamatov (UNCW) 6-3
Singles
1.Stefan Latinovic (LSU) def. Harold Huens (UNCW) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
2.Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) def. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
3. #95 George Stoupe (LSU) def. Reece Falck 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) def. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 7-6(4), 6-2
5. Trey Mallor (UNCW) def. Chen Dong (LSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Jonathon Baron (UNCW) 6-3, 6-1
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3) ; Singles (6, 4, 3, 5, 1, 2)
LSU 7, SU 0
Doubles
1. Koch/Anderson (LSU) vs. Kalaba/Ngwenya (SU) 3-1,Unfinished
2.Hobbs/Hotard (LSU) def. Inyang/Dominguez (SU) 6-0
Singles
1.Aleksi Lofman (LSU) def. Lwazi Ngwenya (SU) 6-2, 6-1
2.Alessio Vasquez (LSU) def. Barnabas Kalaba (SU) 6-0, 6-0
3.Ben Koch (LSU) def. Gabriel Inyang (SU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Charles Hobbs (LSU) def. Jaiden Dominguez (SU) 6-0, 6-0
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (2) ; Singles (4,3,2,1)