LSU (5-2) faced off against Tulane (3-2) at home on Friday. They knew it was going to be tough, and despite holding their own, they lost to the Green Wave 3-4.
Tulane’s team featured three singles players in the top-100. Not only is Tulane a vastly talented team with strong depth, but multiple Tigers were “under the weather” over the past week.
Ronnie Hohmann had been battling the flu over the week. Despite missing multiple practices this week, he still played and performed well in doubles.
Hohmann and Rafael Wagner upped their win streak in doubles to five, winning their match 6-4 against Dane Esses and Luis Erlenbusch. They would also clinch doubles with that win.
“We weren’t even sure if they were going to play today, but they did a good job and competed where they could,” said co-head coach Chris Brandi.
Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson also had an impressive win in doubles, sweeping Ewan Moore and Benji Jacobson 6-0. Kozlov was happy with their performance and the support they got from the crowd.
“I think we came out with a lot of energy,” said Kozlov. “And the crowd helped a lot. It was really nice playing at home tonight.”
He continued his impressive play in singles, where he faced No. 47 Dane Esses. Despite dropping the first set 4-6, a crushing 6-0 performance in the second, and a 6-4 victory in the third earned him the victory.
“[Esses] is a heck of a player. There’s a reason he’s ranked that high,” said Kozlov. “I’m really pleased that I was able to pull out that singles match over such a good player.”
Coach Brandi had high praise for Kozlov. He has confidence in him and knew he could pull off the victory.
“Boris (Kozlov) is probably the best competitor in college tennis,” said Brandi. “We’re not surprised he won today.”
Though Kozlov’s performance in singles was impressive, it came after Tulane had already clinched the match. Tulane dominated singles, obtaining four straight victories as they coasted to a win.
It started with Hohmann, who lost a crushing match to No. 90 Hamish Steward 2-6 and 1-6. Malik Bhatnagar and Watson would soon follow, suffering losses of their own. Joey Thomas was their last hope, but despite winning his first set 6-1, he’d lose the next two 2-6 and 1-6.
Despite the loss, Coach Brandi is excited about the team’s future.
“We still haven’t played a good match yet,” said Brandi. “We’ve got a lot tennis left. You don’t want to be playing your best in January, you want to be playing your best at the end of the year.”
