The LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams enjoyed day-one tournament success at the ITA Southern Regionals in Alabama and saw a few of their players go deep into their respective tournaments last weekend.
For the men’s team, nine of the 10 Tigers who competed won their opening matches.
Junior Olivier Borsos and his doubles partner, freshman Chris Simpson, will compete in the doubles finals today against Ole Miss’ Jonas Lutjen and Johan Backstrom.
Borsos excelled in singles during the weekend but fell in the semifinal match Sunday to Lutjen, 6-3, 6-4. He didn’t lose a set until his semifinal match with Lutjen.
“[Borsos] let his athleticism really come through, and his competitiveness,” said men’s coach Jeff Brown. “He kept his composure … and let his racquet do the mindset.”
Senior Mark Bowtell worked his way through to the quarterfinals, where he lost Saturday, 6-2, 6-3, to Lutjen.
Seniors Tom Knights and David Roberts both lost in the second round of the singles main draw, but went far in the consolation bracket. Knights won three consecutive consolation matches before losing Sunday, and Roberts won two straight consolation matches before losing in his last match Saturday.
“I thought it was great that they got to play so many matches,” Brown said. “That was a big bonus, for them to play so much, that’ll give them a chance for them to get some confidence, and that’s really what it’s all