There was no doubt in Peter Richman’s mind — he refused to lose Sunday against Kentucky.
“This was a guy I lost to last year, but I knew I’m better than him,” Richman said after his 6-2, 7-5, victory over Kentucky’s No. 65 Karim Benmansour. “It took some belief out there. He gave me a couple early breaks, made me believe in myself, and I took advantage of the situation.”
Richman’s victory clinched the Tigers’ 4-2 victory Sunday against No. 12 Kentucky.
LSU (10-7, 3-6 Southeastern Conference) won the doubles point to start the match. No. 13 Jason Hazley and Bryan Fisher defeated Benmansour and Matt Emery, 8-4. Meanwhile, Richman and teammate Brandon Nicholson dropped Evan Austin and Alex Hume, 8-5.
In singles play, the Tigers earned victories from Richman, Sebastian Rutka and Cory Ross. Rutka defeated Emery in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, while Ross upset No. 113 Rahim Esmail, 7-5, 6-4.
The win followed LSU’s loss Friday against No. 8 Vanderbilt, 5-2. The Tigers’ ability to bounce back against Kentucky pleased Richman.
“Vanderbilt and Kentucky are both very solid teams,” Richman said. “Getting Kentucky was a good win for us, and we’ll build on that and go into next weekend with more confidence.”
The LSU women’s tennis team fell short Friday against No. 13 Vanderbilt, 7-0.
The lone bright spot for the Lady Tigers came via Rocio Fantilli and Lauren Seaman. The LSU duo defeated the No. 1 doubles team of Sarah Riske and Aleke Tsoubanos, 8-4.
The Lady Tigers (8-10, 1-7 SEC) fell to Tulane on Sunday.