Men's Tennis Defeats Alcorn, 7-0; Falls To Auburn, 4-3

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Men’s Tennis team swept Alcorn 7-0 after falling to Auburn by a score of 4-3 in Sunday’s double-header.

The LSU Tigers brought a strong start into the matchup against Auburn by securing the opening point at courts two and three. Alessio Vasquez and Julien Penzlin quickly took down Alex Frusina and Joey Phillips by a score of 6-3 at the No. 2 court. With the win, the Tiger duo extended their perfect season record as a pair to 4-0. Shortly after, Calin Stirbu and Enzo Kohlmann clinched the doubles point after defeating Jake Kennedy and Nicholas Heng by a score of 6-2. 

Auburn evened the playing field at 1-1 after Andrej Loncarevic fell to No. 70 Alex Frusina by a score of 6-1, 6-2. Billy Blaydes extended the lead to 2-1 for Auburn at the No. 3 singles court after defeating Julien Penzlin in a 6-3, 6-4 match.

Alessio Vasquez closed the gap on the scoreboard with a victory at the No. 1 singles court. Vasquez took down Will Nolan in two straight sets, winning by a score of 6-3, 7-5. Vasquez continues to be a key player in LSU’s lineup, bringing in 11 singles wins in dual play this season.

The No. 4 court saw three sets between Hamza Nasridinov and Sasa Markovic. The first set went to the purple and gold Tiger in a 6-4 match. Nasridinov came back and claimed the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to give Auburn their second lead of the match.

Enzo Kohlmann saw success at the No. 5 court against Joey Phillips in a three set battle. Kohlmann dropped the first set 7-5 but fought back in the next set. The second set went to a tie-break with Kohlmann coming out on top after only dropping two points. The deciding set was a 6-4 victory for Kohlmann, leaving the No. 6 court to be the deciding match. 

Calin Stirbu fought in three sets against Nicholas Heng on the final court. Heng claimed the first set in a narrow 7-5 match but Stirbu came back to force a third set after taking the second set 7-6(5). The final set was taken by Heng in another tight 7-5 match.

Despite the loss, the LSU Tigers came back out to take on Alcorn State shortly after the conclusion of the first match. Heading into doubles with one court taken by default, LSU secured the initial point at the No. 2 court. Aleksi Lofman and Charles Hobbs paired up for the first time this season and took down Yangho Park and Tomas Grime by a score of 6-4.

Moving into singles with the advantage, LSU quickly extended their lead to 3-0 after Brock Anderson earned a perfect 6-0, 6-0 win over Jerry Thomas at the No. 5 court. Rudy Ceccon also played an impressive game at the No. 3 singles court against Tomas Grime. Ceccon walked off the court with a 6-1, 6-0 to clinch the match at 4-0 for the Tigers. 

Sasa Markovic was the next to add to the board for the Tigers. At the No. 2 court, Markovic took down David Leon in a quick 6-2, 6-4 match. This marks the Tiger’s fifth win at the No. 2 singles court and his ninth victory on the season. 

To end Sunday’s match, Julien Penzlin secured a win at the top singles court against Emmanuel Cottle. The senior Tiger walked away with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Cottle, giving LSU their seventh point of the match.

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Results

#34 Auburn 4, LSU 3

Singles competition

1. #111 Alessio Vasquez (LSU) def. Will Nolan (AUB) 6-3, 7-5
2. #70 Alex Frusina (AUB) def. Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. Julien Penzlin (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) def. Sasa Markovic (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) def. Joey Phillips (AUB) 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
6. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Calin Stirbu (LSU) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Sasa Markovic/Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) vs. #13 Will Nolan/Billy Blaydes (AUB) 4-3, unfinished
2. Alessio Vasquez/Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Alex Frusina/Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-3
3. Calin Stirbu/Enzo Kohlmann (LSU) def. Jake Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) 6-2

Match Notes

Auburn 18-9; National ranking #34

LSU 11-16

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,3,1,4,5,6)

A-131

LSU 7, Alcorn State 0

Singles competition

1. Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Emmanuel Cottle (ASU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Sasa Markovic (LSU) def. David Leon (ASU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Rudy Ceccon (LSU) def. Tomas Grime (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) def. Yangho Park (ASU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Brock Anderson (LSU) def. Jerry Thomas (ASU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Charles Hobbs (LSU) def. No player (ASU), by default

Doubles competition

1. Emmanuel Cottle/David Leon (ASU) def. Alessio Vasquez/Sasa Markovic (LSU) 6-1
2. Aleksi Lofman/Charles Hobbs (LSU) def. Yangho Park/Tomas Grime (ASU) 6-4
3. Rudy Ceccon/Brock Anderson (LSU) def. No player/No player (ASU), by default

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,3,4,2,1)