LSU men’s tennis has improved to a 5-1 overall record as they added wins over Tulane and Lamar last weekend. 

On Saturday, the Tigers took on the Green Wave for their home opener, starting the day in a dramatic fashion as the two teams fought closely for the doubles point.

The Tiger opened up with the first win as Nick Watson and Stefan Latinovic defeated their opponents in a convincing 6-1 win. Tulane bounced back with a close win as Welsh Hotard and Chen Dong fell in a 5-7 defeat. 

The Tigers pulled through and narrowly took the overall lead 1-0 as George Stoupe and Ronnie Hohmann wrapped up doubles play with a 7-5 win, sending LSU into singles matches up a point.

The Green Wave were no match for the Tigers’ impressive singles play, with LSU winning five of the six singles matches to win.

Stefan Latinovic started the matches with a quick win, beating Tulane’s Billy Suarez 6-3, 6-4. Chen Dong followed with another win in straight sets, winning 7-5, 6-1. George Stoupe continued the success with a victory in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. 

Tulane’s Fynn Kuenkler secured Tulane’s only point of the day, defeating LSU’s Ronnie Hohmann in a three-set battle, winning 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. Welsh Hotard followed Hohmann’s loss with the most exciting match of the day, winning a close bout 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 with a 10-point tiebreaker in the 3rd set.

Julien Penzlin wrapped up the day with a hard-fought win over Tulane’s Alex Bancila, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. 

The Tigers followed their Saturday win over Tulane with another win on Sunday as they convincingly defeated Lamar University 7-0. 

LSU won both of their first doubles matches, securing the doubles point to put the Tigers up 1-0 going into singles play. Nick Watson and Stefan Latinovic’s match went unfinished to wrap up doubles, giving them the win.

To start singles play, Benjamin Ambrosio made quick work of Lamar’s Elias Peter to win the first match 6-2, 6-1. Ronnie Hohmann followed Ambrosio’s convincing win with one of his own, defeating the Cardinals’ Filippo Salsini 6-1, 6-2. 

Chen Dong completed a strong win of his own, defeating his opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-1.

Stefan Latinovic completed his singles match to put LSU up 5-0 overall, as he won 6-2, 6-3. George Stoupe continued the Tigers’ success with a win in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.

To finish the day, Welsh Hotard played in another grueling battle, narrowly defeating his opponent in a 3rd set timebreaker, 6-2, 3-6, 10-8. 

LSU is now 5-1 so far this season after its home openers. The Tigers will look to continue their win streak in two weeks as they take on Southern Mississippi at home on Feb. 25.