LSU came up short on its home court for the second straight week, losing to the University of North Florida 5-2.
The Tigers got off to a bad start dropping the doubles point to begin the match, which put LSU in a rough spot, LSU coach Jeff Brown said.
“It was not a great doubles point for us,” Brown said. “We are still trying to get that point to the level that we are capable of playing it. Tonight, it put us in a hole, and the other team was able to put more pressure on us than if we would have been up 1-0 heading into singles.”
The Tigers would get an early singles point from freshman Agie Moreno, who convincingly beat his opponent 6-2, 6-0 in straight sets.
Brown thought the win was good for his freshman’s confidence.
“I was glad for him,” Brown said. “He hasn’t been able to get any wins down there, and has had some tough matches and matchups. So it was good to see him take advantage of an opportunity to win and convert. It was always good to see a freshman get confidence.”
Due to injuries, LSU is forced to rely upon inexperienced players which may hurt the Tigers now, but may help later on in the season.
“We are counting on four freshmen right now,” Brown said. “Which is tough when you see them struggle. I see them in practice work really hard in practice, so I hope they are able to get more satisfaction as the season goes on.”
The Tigers also received a strong showing from its senior leader, Justin Butsch.
Butsch, who is ranked No. 41, defeated No. 61-ranked Jefta Kecic, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
Playing on LSU’s home court, Kecic was bothered by a few noisy fans behind him in the first set, and replied in the second set with taunts of his own. Butsch was able to get the upperhand in the third set, delivering a point for the Tigers.
“[Kecic] handled himself fine really, there weren’t too many things that out of the realm that you are allowed to do,” Brown said. “He was showing fight, and doing some things. Our guy shows a lot of fight too, so those two together were kind of a volatile match, but they did not have any animosity towards each other. Overall they both played hard.”
The wins for the Tigers stopped with Butsch.
Senior Jordan Daigle, who is ranked No. 94, returned to the lineup after being pulled before the start of singles play a week ago against Santa Clara.
After dropping the first set 6-2, Daigle mounted a comeback winning the second set 7-5, and took a 2-1 lead in the third set. However, his play faded down the stretch resulting in a 6-3 loss to No. 74 Jack Findel-Hawkins in the third set.
“I think he was unlucky to not get the hold,” Brown said. “Actually I thought the other guy was starting to fade. Daigle had a couple of games where he was up 30-love, and just didn’t convert.”
For the Tigers, who are 1-4 on the season, they will take on the Tulane Green Wave Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in their third straight home match.
