BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 37 LSU Men’s Tennis Team (11-10, 1-9 SEC) fell in their match against No. 41 Arkansas (16-9, 3-6 SEC) by a score of 4-3 in Friday’s match at the LSU Tennis Complex
Doubles
The Tigers started the match out strong by clinching the doubles point. On the No. 1 court, Stefan Latinovic and George Stoupe defeated No.34-ranked Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood by a score of 6-4. The duo earned their first win as a doubles pair this season. This was their second appearance, both on the No. 1 court.
Chen Dong and Julien Penzlin clinched the doubles point for LSU in today’s match. They faced Connor Smillie and Jake Sweeney on the No. 2 court and won by a score of 6-4. Dong and Penzlin have seen success again and again in doubles. The duo has earned 11 wins between the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles court.
Singles
On the No. 1 court, Stefan Latinovic fell in his singles match against Bozo Barun by a score of 7-6(5), 6-3.
Aleksi Lofman added to the board for the Tigers to after winning his match on the No. 3 court. He defeated Melvin Manuel in three sets. The first set went to Manuel with a score of 6-3. Lofman took the second set 6-3, forcing a third. In the final set, Lofman won 6-4. So far in his first season with the Tigers, Lofman has earned seven singles wins between courts one, two, and three.
George Stoupe faced Gerad Planelles Ripoll on the No. 2 court and fell by a score of 7-6(4), 6-2.
On the No. 5 court, Benedikt Emesz defeated Julien Penzlin by a score of 7-6(9-7), 6-3, making the match score 3-2 for the Razorbacks.
Chen tied up the score for the Tigers after defeating Karlo Kajin on the No. 6 court in three sets. Dong won the first set with a quick 6-3 win. Kajin took the second set narrowly winning 6-4, forcing the third set. In the final set, Dong came back and won 6-3. After tonight’s match, he now has an overall singles record of 13-8.
Arkansas clinched the match in a battle on the No. 4 court between Stefanos Savva and Rudy Ceccon. In the first set, Savva won by a score of 6-3. The second set went to a tie-breaker with Ceccon winning 7-6(10-8), forcing the third set. In the final set, Savva won by a score of 7-6(11-9).
Up Next
The Tigers will be back on the road next weekend to face Vanderbilt in Nashville on Friday, April 12 at 4 p.m. CST.
Results
Doubles
1. Latinovic/Stoupe (LSU) def. #34 Barun/Horwood (ARK) 6-4
2. Dong/Penzlin (LSU) def. Smille/Sweeney (ARK) 6-4
3. Lofman/Hotard (LSU) vs. Manuel/Sau Franco (ARK) 6-6, unfinished
Singles
1. Bozo Barun (ARK) def. Stefan Latinovic (LSU) 7-6(5), 6-3
2. Gerad Planelles Ripoll (ARK) def. George Stoupe (LSU) 7-6(4), 6-2
3. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) def. Melvin Manuel (ARK) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Stefanos Savva (ARK) def. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) 6-3, (10-8)6-7, 7-6(11-9)
5. Benedikt Emesz (ARK) def. Julien Penzlin (LSU) 7-6(9-7), 6-3
6. Chen Dong (LSU) def. Karlo Kajin (ARK) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2), Singles (1, 3, 2, 5, 6, 4)