The No. 20 LSU men’s tennis team completed its final weekend of regular-season play with a sweep of Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas and upstart Jackson State, 4-1 and 4-0.
The Tigers (15-10, 5-7 SEC) took control early against the Razorbacks (15-15, 0-12 SEC), winning the doubles point and taking the first set in all six singles matches.
LSU got strong performances out of several seniors in what were likely their final matches at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. Olivier Borsos won his match in straight sets, and Mark Bowtell clinched the match for the Tigers with his 7-6, 6-3 victory.
“You need to get any win you can get in the SEC [because] the teams are all good,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “I was glad to see a senior, Bowtell, close it out. … It was a good day overall.”
Senior Stefan Szacinski was on his way to his ninth straight singles victory when he aggravated a condition in his right knee early in the second set, forcing him to take a medical timeout and a one-game penalty. He gutted it out the rest of his match, which was left unfinished after the Tigers clinched the win. Brown said the injury is something the senior has dealt with all season and does not expect it to keep him out of the SEC Tournament, which begins this week.
The second half of the doubleheader against Jackson State saw a different mix of faces across all courts for the Tigers as freshmen took over for many of the veterans.
Jackson State fielded a team of only five players, and thus forfeited the third doubles match, allowing LSU to secure the point after freshman Tam Trinh and senior Roger Anderson won 8-3. LSU took a 2-0 lead after Jackson State forfeited the court six singles match and wrapped up the match with two straight set wins by Trinh and freshman Harrison Kennedy.
The Tigers will be the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament and will have their first match at 6 p.m. Thursday in Oxford, Miss., against whichever team claims the sixth seed.
“In the SEC Tournament, you’re just looking at your first match [because] you are going to be playing a top-25 team for sure,” Brown said. “You really can’t look [ahead], and if you do you probably won’t be around that long.”
