BATON ROUGE La. – The No. 28 LSU Men’s Tennis team (11-5, 1-4 SEC) fell to No. 6 Kentucky (13-2, 4-0 SEC) in Friday’s match at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Doubles
The match started strong with the Tigers securing the doubles point. On the No. 2 court, the No. 73-ranked duo of Welsh Hotard and George Stoupe earned a quick win against Jaden Weekes and Eli Stephenson by a score of 6-3. Hotard and Stoupe have had an impressive doubles dual season, only dropping one match and holding a 8-1 record.
Chen Dong and Julien Penzlin saw success on the doubles court tonight and clinched the point for the Tigers. Dong and Penzlin won by a score of 6-3 on the No. 3 court against Jack Loutit and Matt Rankin. The Tiger duo has posted a perfect 8-0 record on the No. 3 court during this dual season.
Singles
Kentucky tied up the score to 1-1 when Joshua Lapadat defeated Aleksi Lofman on the No. 2 court. Lofman fell by a score of 6-1, 6-3.
On the No. 1 court, Stefan Latinovic created a 2-1 lead for the Tigers. He went to three sets against No. 21-ranked Taha Baadi. Latinovic took the first set in a quick win of 6-1. The second set went to Baasi by a score of 6-3, forcing a third set. Latinovic then came back and took the final set by a score of 6-3. The win is the first ranked singles win for Latinovic this season. With the win, he has closed the gap in his singles record by making it 13-13 in today’s match.
The Wildcats tied it up once again with a win on the No. 5 court from Jack Loutit. Rudy Ceccon fell to Loutit by a narrow score of 6-4 in the first set before dropping three games in the second and Loutit winning 6-3.
Kentucky took the lead after a win from Charlelie Cosnet on the No. 4 court. Cosnet defeated Julien Penzlin in three sets. Penzlin took the first set in a narrow win of 6-4. The second set went to Cosnet in a quick 6-0 win, forcing the third set. Only dropping two games in the final set, Cosnet won by a score of 6-2.
The Wildcats clinched the match with a win on the No. 6 court. Eli Stephenson defeated Welsh Hotard by a score of 6-2, 7-5.
Up Next
The Tigers will take on No.8 Tennessee on Sunday at the LSU Tennis Complex. The match will begin at noon CST. There will be free crawfish for those in attendance.
Results
#6 UK, 4, #28 LSU 2
Doubles
1. #51 Latinovic/Lofman (LSU) vs. #13 Mercer/Lapadat (UK), unfinished
2. #73 Stoupe/Hotard (LSU) def. Weekes/Stephenson (UK) 6-3
3. Dong/Penzlin (LSU) def. Loutit/Rankin 6-3
Singles
1. Stefan Latinovic (LSU) def. #21 Taha Baadi 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
2. Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. George Stoupe (LSU) vs. Jaden Weeks (UK), (4)6-7, 4-5, unfinished
4. Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Julien Penzlin (LSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
5. Jack Loutit (UK) def. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Welsh Hotard (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3), Singles (2, 1, 5, 4, 6)
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