The No. 27 LSU men’s tennis team couldn’t pull off an upset Monday in its final non-conference match of the season, losing to No. 2 Ohio State, 6-1.
There were no surprises in doubles play, as the Buckeyes swept the Tigers (11-5, 2-2) to gain a 1-0 lead.
Ohio State (19-1) came into the match boasting the No. 1-ranked doubles pair in the nation in Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola. The duo handled senior Neal Skupski and sophomore James Turbervill on the top court, 8-4.
The Buckeyes clinched the doubles point with an 8-4 victory by No. 39 Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen against No. 51 Olivier Borsos and freshman Chris Simpson on court two.
LSU’s struggles continued in singles action as Ohio State quickly won four consecutive points to clinch the match at 5-0.
Ohio State’s route to victory started with No. 12 Buchanan taking down No. 71 Borsos, 6-2, 6-2, on court two.
After leading in his first set on court four, Turbervill struggled to keep his momentum, dropping to No. 107 Van Engelen, 6-4, 6-0.
With the score at 3-0, the Buckeye’s McCarthy clinched the match on court five with a 6-3, 6-2 win against senior Tom Knights.
Play continued with the match in hand, allowing Ohio State to claim two more victories with No. 6-ranked Rola defeating No. 85 Skupski on court one and No. 46 Peter Kobelt taking down Simpson on court three.
The Tigers claimed one victory in the match with junior Stefan Szacinski defeating Ohio State’s Connor Smith on court six, 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 (6).
“Ohio State was a very good team, and we weren’t quite at their level today,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “Any place that you have a weakness, they expose it.”
The LSU women’s tennis team will host its second doubleheader in the last week as it takes on No. 63 Ohio State and in-state foe Grambling State today.
The Lady Tigers will be in search of key wins after their weekend split with a loss to Minnesota, 4-3, and an afternoon victory against Prairie View A&M, 4-0.
Today’s doubleheader will give LSU (8-6, 2-2) its last opportunity to pick up non-conference victories before entering the remaining Southeastern Conference schedule, which begins with No. 11 Tennessee on Friday.
 
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