LSU men’s tennis has started its season off strong as they come off two victories this past weekend. The Tigers defeated Rice University 4-2 and Prairie View A&M University 7-0 to improve to a 3-1 record to start the season. 

It was a back-and-forth battle Saturday between the Tigers and the Owls, with the match coming down to the end of singles play. LSU started off strong as Nick Watson and Stefan Latinovic won the first match of the day: a 6-4 in doubles. 

Rice bounced back quickly, taking the next doubles match 3-6. LSU regained their lead before heading to singles play as Chen Dong and Welsh Hotard won their match 6-3, giving the Tigers the lead overall 1-0.

In singles, Rice took an early lead as Hotard fell to Barnett in straight sets, and George Stoupe was defeated by Kapasi 6-2, 6-3, giving the Owls a 2-1 overall advantage.

The Tigers were far from defeated, and LSU began a victorious run to close the match. Latinovic started the Tiger win streak with a close win against Grear, winning 7-5, 6-3. 

Tied at 2-2 overall, Ronald Hohmann continued the success in a hard-fought battle, taking the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, and the second set 6-4.
 To complete the comeback, Julien Penzlin won his first set in a tiebreaker 7-6, dropping the second set 6-3 to his opponent Salmon, but finished strong in the third set and took the win 6-3, securing the 4-2 victory for LSU.

Coming off of their big win against Rice, LSU completed the day with another win as they easily defeated Prairie View 7-0 overall. The Panthers proved to be no match for the Tigers, with LSU not losing a single set in the entire meet. 

LSU looks to continue their three-game win streak as they take on Tulane for their first home match of the season on Saturday, Feb. 11.