The LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams won their first-round matches convincingly at the Southeastern Conference tournaments this past weekend. But their second-round opponents proved to be tougher tests.
The No. 6 seed LSU could not get past Tennessee on Friday in the teams’ second meeting of the season. The No. 3 seed Volunteers defeated the Tigers, 4-2, after rain moved the match indoors in Fayetteville, Ark.
Tennessee won an intense doubles point to start the match as the the battle between 26th-ranked duo of juniors Michael Venus and James Cluskey and 12th-ranked Tennessee senior Kaden Hensel and freshman J.P. Smith came down to a tiebreak. Hensel and Smith ultimately won, 9-8 (6), to give the Volunteers the early lead.
The Tigers mounted a comeback to 3-2 in the singles contests when freshman Julien Gauthier and first-team All-SEC selection Venus won their matches in three sets.
But Cluskey could not outlast Tennessee freshman Matteo Fago in another three-setter, 0-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, and Tennessee sealed victory.
With the loss, senior Kevin Dessauer said the Tigers will likely not host a first-round match in the NCAA tournament, which begins May 9.
“We might have to travel to North Carolina, Texas Tech or Florida State, which isn’t a bad draw for us,” Dessauer said. “We would love to host, but to go somewhere close enough where we can win and [advance to] the Sweet 16 [would be good].”
Dessauer, a second-team All-SEC selection, said the key for the Tigers is to stay physically fit in preparation for the NCAA tournament.
“We’ll be doing less tennis and more fitness to give our bodies a break from everyday practice,” Dessauer said. “We’ll definitely be fit and have all the experience from the SEC [tournament] to bring to the NCAA tournament.”
The No. 6 seed Lady Tigers also could not advance past the second round in Auburn, Ala. They fell, 4-0, to No. 3 seed Arkansas on Friday.
LSU played the Lady’ Backs for the second time in less than a week, and women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said 16th-ranked Arkansas came out stronger than on April 12, when LSU came away with a 5-2 upset.
“That’s a tough chore to beat a team of that quality twice in six days,” Minnis said. “They came out with a lot of fire. Not that they didn’t before, but they seemed extremely hungry and motivated, and I felt like we weren’t quite as fiery as we were last Saturday.”
LSU junior Megan Falcon, the nation’s 12th-ranked player and a first-team All-SEC selection for the second consecutive year, lost her singles match to No. 2 Arkansas sophomore Aurelija Miseviciute, 6-3, 6-1, after Falcon had beaten her in straight sets the previous time they met.
“It’s always hard to play somebody back to back,” Falcon said. “They really wanted to beat us, and they were better [Friday]. We just didn’t play our best.”
The Tigers defeated No. 11 seed Mississippi State, 4-0, on Thursday, and the Lady Tigers knocked off Alabama, 4-1.
Minnis said his team will take advantage of the three weeks before the NCAA tournament to put themselves in a good position to advance.
“The season is long, and it’s a grind,” Minnis said. “Everything you’re playing for matters right now in the NCAA tournament, regardless of how well you’ve done in the spring.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will find out where they will play in the NCAA tournament on April 29 in a selection show on ESPNews.
—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]