The LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams did not start their weekend out with a bang, with both teams losing to Georgia Friday.
LSU (8-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) finished the weekend with a thrilling 4-3 victory over conference rival Tennessee, coming down to the final set.
LSU started with a doubles victory that proved to be a deciding factor at the end.
The final singles match finished with Peter Richman coming back to defeat Tennessee’s No. 94 Ockie Oosthuizen 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
“They were big support, they kept me going,” Richman said, acknowledging the supportive LSU fans. “The crowd was great. They made me proud to be an LSU Tiger.”
Richman said he enjoys pressure situations, where a match depends on his success for a victory.
“I thrive in those situations,” Richman said. “It’s what you play tennis for, when you’re in the spotlight, you love it.”
Ken Skupski had a stellar performance as well, defeating No. 37 Simon Rea, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
“We were very disappointed to lose [against Georgia]. That match gave us that little extra fight,” Skupski said.
LSU coach Jeff Brown said close matches are expected in SEC competition.
“The only difference is just a couple of points here or there,” Brown said. “That’s just the way it is in the SEC.”
The No. 12 men said they got their inspiration from the first loss of the season, 4-3, to No. 21 Georgia.
LSU (7-1, 0-1) began with a 2-0 lead, to doubles success and Cory Ross’ quick win on singles court six, but Georgia (7-1, 1-0) won the next
four singles matches.
LSU coach Jeff Brown said the match could have gone either way.
“We had chances to capitalize on all six courts, whether we won the first set or we were up at the break,” said Brown. “We did a poor job of cashing in on our opportunities.”
Skupski fell behind early in his third set. He tied the score at 4-4 before Hodge pulled away to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
“You don’t want to have to count on beating the No. 4 player in the nation to win the match,” Brown said. “[Skupski] did a good job to put himself in that position. It’s a tough situation and I’m sure he will learn a lot from the match.”
“Sometimes the hurt of a loss drives the point home and you learn lessons,” Brown said. “We need to use those to get ready for Tennessee.”
The Lady Tigers did not have as competitive a match against Georgia’s Lady Bulldogs or as thrilling a match against the Lady Volunteers. The Lady Tigers lost Friday, 7-0, to No. 2 Georgia.
LSU (7-4, 0-3) did have an opportunity to get a doubles point. LSU’s Daysi Espinal and Camila Caliari won 8-6 at No. 3 doubles over Natalie Frazier and Douglas Wink, but a close loss by Jessica Ferguson and Marina Chiarelli ended those hopes.
“We had a shot at the doubles point,” said LSU coach Tony Minnis. “I feel like our kids are really working hard. We’ve had three tough matches now, but we have to keep working hard and fighting.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ singles’ lineup featured three players ranked in the top 100, including first-ranked Agata Cioroch.
“We’ve been playing with outstanding intensity,” Minnis said. “We have a tendency to start strong and fall off at the end. I think we improved in this match and in our last three matches. We just have to bounce back against Tennessee.”
The Lady Tigers traveled to Knoxville Sunday for a noon matchup against the Lady Volunteers, where they did not have much more success, losing 6-1 to the No. 36 Lady Volunteers.
Jessica Ferguson won the only match for LSU, defeating No. 62 Sabita Maharaj 6-4, 6-2.