The LSU men’s tennis team challenged No. 36 Auburn on Sunday, taking four out of six singles matches to final sets, but were unable to close any of them out as they fell 4-1.
The match started off with LSU leading all three doubles matches in the beginning before dropping two of three and giving Auburn the doubles point. LSU coach Jeff Brown credited Auburn’s accuracy in being able to bounce back.
“They just don’t miss much,” Brown said. “We started making mistakes, and they’re real good shot makers. We weren’t able to maintain.”
Freshman Justin Butsch and sophomore Boris Arias in particular were among the players unable to maintain their singles matches.
Butsch jumped ahead of his opponent, No. 120 Dante Saleh, 6-3 in the first set, putting him on track to get a marquee win before dropping the final two sets 6-4 and 6-3.
The trend continued for most of the match with many LSU players forcing Auburn to go a third set, but ultimately being unable to capitalize.
Arias had a very up and down match, falling 6-1 in the first set to opponent Daniel Cochrane, but Arias forced a third set after winning the second 6-4.
Cochrane bounced back in the third set, firing at Arias and keeping him on his heels for an easy 6-0 win in the third.
“Bit of a streaky match,” Brown said. “It really snowballed in the third.”
Arias got shut down in the third because his style of play didn’t effectively counteract Cochrane’s.
Cochrane also dominated his home court, which visiting teams can have difficulty with, Brown said.
“A little bit tough on the courts today,” Brown said. “They are a little slow and bouncy, but I think we competed well in a tough place to play.”
Not every match was lost, as sophomore Harrison Kennedy dominated his opponent in singles, winning both sets 6-2.
The Tigers will now move their focus to opponent George Washington, whom they host on Thursday.
“It really snowballed in the third.”
LSU sophomore Tam Trinh returns the ball Friday, March 7, 2014 during a doubles match against Alabama in W.T. "Dub" Robinson Stadium.
