LSU (2-0) faced off against Alcorn State (0-2) twice this weekend, defeating them both times by a score of 7-0. They did this with a singles-set record of 20-0, a doubles-set record of 4-0 and a total of four clean sweeps over the duration of the matches.
LSU has faced Alcorn State in seven matches since 2015, combining for a score of 40-0. Though they’ve easily handled business against the Braves in the past, the Tigers were a lot more dominant this year, as they only totaled two clean sweeps in last year’s matches and one clean sweep in their matches in 2017.
Despite facing against an easier opponent, the Tigers didn’t let up and played with a lot of effort. Rafael Wagner stated that his opponent’s perceived skill level never matters to him, as he always brings the same amount of effort to all of his matches.
“I don’t think about my competition,” Wagner said. “If they are supposed to be weaker than us, that doesn’t matter. We just go out there, do our best and try to get the win.”
Wagner didn’t play in Saturday’s match, as the coaches wanted to get as many players in as possible this weekend. He played on Sunday though, as the No. 60 duo of Ronald Hohmann and Wagner earned their first victory of the spring season with a 6-1 win over Alcorn State’s Stojan Stojanovski and David Pata. He also played in singles, where he won 6-2/6-4 on Court 1.
Other impressive singles players from today included Nick Watson, Tomas Descarrega and Malik Bhatnagar, with Watson pulling off a clean sweep and Descarrega and Bhatnagar dropping a total of three games through four sets. Wagner was excited about his team’s play on Sunday.
“It’s great being able to go out and do what we’re supposed to do,” Wagner said. “[There was] great energy and great atmosphere with everyone.”
Co-head coach, Chris Brandi, was also excited about the way his team played this weekend, believing that this was a good way to start and that it should prepare them for tougher matches they attend in the near future.
“I thought they did a good job,” Brandi said. “They did what they needed to do and hopefully that prepares us for later in the week because we start playing some tough teams in the near future.”
When asked if he believes the team has improved since their competition in the fall, he responded with a confident “100 percent.”
“I think now we’re back in a routine where everybody looks good and there is a lot of depth this year,” Brandi said. “They’re competing for playing time, and that’s good for practice because they come ready to go, they’re sharp and they know they’re competing with each other.”
The Tigers aren’t done with competition this week, with matches against UL-Lafayette on Wednesday and UTSA on Saturday. They look to maintain a perfect record early on in the season.
