The LSU men’s tennis team defeated San Diego, 4-2, in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff tournament Saturday afternoon.
Junior Tam Trinh and senior Chris Simpson got the Tigers off to a quick start, winning their doubles match, 6-2. The doubles team of sophomore Justin Butsch and junior Andrew Korniek gave the Tigers a 1-0 overall lead soon after, securing the doubles point with a 6-4 victory. 
LSU coach Jeff Brown said his team had a great mindset going into the match and channeled it en route to a positive start.
“The guys looked real sharp, and it translated into the match at the beginning of the doubles to close out those two pretty quick,” Brown said.
LSU got off to another fast start when singles play began. Junior Boris Arias won his match 6-3, 6-1, and Butsch followed with a 6-1, 6-4 victory to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
San Diego was able to bring the score back to 3-2, but sophomore Jordan Daigle ended the Toreros’ comeback bid with a win against No. 53 ranked Uros Petronijevic.
Daigle dropped the opening set, 6-4, but clawed back to win his match with a pair of 6-3 wins to clinch the 4-2 victory for the Tigers.
LSU moves on to face TCU in the championship match at 3 p.m. Sunday. Brown said both teams are familiar with each other and that the outcome depends on who is playing better that day.