MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 36 LSU Men’s Tennis team (10-1) earned their first Top 25 win of the 2024 season as they fought hard to defeat No. 21 Memphis (8-3) by a score of 4-3 on Friday night at the Leftwitch Tennis Center.
Danny Bryan’s Thoughts
“Amazing team win,” said head coach Danny Bryan. “Overall an incredible college tennis atmosphere. Memphis had a huge crowd and it was an incredible environment. Started off with a great doubles point. In singles, there were so many momentum changes. Every guy fought. We had so many great performances but the performance by our two freshmen when we were down 2-3 was pretty epic. Aleksi winning the tiebreaker 10-8. The level from both players was very high. For Rudy, to close the match out was an awesome experience for our guys and really will give our team confidence going forward to see all their hard work pay off.”
Doubles
The Tigers started the day strong by taking the doubles point. On the No. 1 doubles court, Stefan Latinovic and Aleksi Lofman teamed up to face the No. 25-ranked duo of Pablo Alemany and Charlie Barry. LSU quickly took the first win of the match by a score of 6-3. This was the fourth appearance for this Tiger duo on the No. 1 court and after today’s match, their record was improved to 3-1.
On the No. 3 court, Chen Dong and Julien Penzlin clinched the doubles point. They faced Mortiz Kudernatsch and Pau Fanlo and won with a score of 6-3. Dong and Penzlin continued their perfect record and improved it to 4-0, all earned on the No. 3 court.
Singles
LSU brought the momentum from doubles into singles and fought hard in every match, with five matches going to three sets.
On the No. 4 court, Alessio Vasquez fell to Paul Fanlo. The first set went to a tiebreaker with Fanlo taking the set by a score of 7-6(2). In the second set, Vasquez lost the match with a score of 6-1 and Memphis tied the team score up at 1-1.
LSU retook the lead at 2-1 with Julien Penzlin securing a win on the No. 6 court. Penzlin faced Mika Bergaus in three sets. Penzlin narrowly won the first set by a score of 6-4. The second set was taken by Berghaus with a score of 6-3. Penzlin finished the match with a narrow win in the third set by a score of 6-4. Penzlin improved his record on the No. 6 singles court to 9-0.
On the No. 2 court, Memphis tied it back up at 2-2.. Connor Gannon defeated No. 122 George Stoupe by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Memphis took their first lead of the match when Stefan Latinovic fell for the first time on the No. 1 court this season. Latinovic went to three sets against Pablo Alemany, but Alemany defeated Latinvoic, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 and gave the home team a 3-2 lead.
Aleksi Lofman started the comeback for the Tigers on the No. 3 court, closing the gap and making the score 3-3 after going to three sets against Harry Rock. Rock narrowly won the first set, 6-4. Lofman fought hard in the second set, winning 7-5. In the third set, Lofman and Rock went to a tiebreaker with Lofman winning 10-8. With the win, Lofman improved his dual season record to 4-3.
Rudy Ceccon earned the win for the Tigers on the No. 5 court. Ceccon faced Mortiz Kudernatsch in three sets. Ceccon narrowly won the first set by a score of 6-4. The second set went to Kudernatsch with him winning a tiebreaker 7-6(1). Ceccon bounced back in the final set and secured the Top 25 win for the visiting Tigers by a score of 6-3. After tonight’s match, Ceccon has an impressive 6-3 singles dual record.
Results
#36 LSU 4, #21 MEM 3
Doubles
1. Latinovic/Lofman (LSU) def. #25 Alemany/Barry (MEM) 3-6
2. Hotard/Stoupe (LSU) vs. Gannon/Rock (MEM) 5-4, Unfinished
3. Dong/Penzlin (LSU) def. Kudernatsch/Fanlo (MEM) 3-6
Singles
1.Pablo Alemany (MEM) def. Stefan Latinovic (LSU) 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4
2. Connor Gannon (MEM) def. #122 George Stoupe (LSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Aleski Lofman (LSU) def. Harry Rock (MEM) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(8-10)
4. Paul Fanlo (MEM) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 7-6(2), 6-1
5. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) def. Mortiz Kudernatsch (MEM) 6-4, (1)6-7, 6-3
6. Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Mika Berghaus (MEM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3) ; Singles (4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 5)
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