It was not a good weekend for the LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams.
Both the No. 32 Tigers (7-10, 2-7) and the No. 16 Lady Tigers (13-8, 3-6) dropped matches to Ole Miss on Friday. The women lost to Mississippi State, 4-3, on Sunday, while the men’s match at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium was delayed because of rain.
The men’s match will resume Monday at 10 a.m. at Robinson Stadium.
LSU and Mississippi State were tied at 2 before inclement weather postponed the match.
The two teams began their match with singles play. LSU senior Michael Venus posted the first point with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Mississippi State’s Ryan Farlow.
LSU’s Julien Gauthier fell to Mississippi State’s Christopher Doerr, 7-5, 6-3, and LSU sophomore Sebastian Carlsson beat Louis Cant, 6-1, 6-3, shortly thereafter.
LSU’s James Cluskey split his first two sets against Mississippi State’s Artem Ilyushin, but Ilyushin took the third set.
Action was suspended on court four and six when the match was stopped.
LSU also lost to No. 2 Ole Miss, 5-2, on Friday at Robinson Stadium.
The Tigers pulled out the doubles point against the Rebels, but Ole Miss held a strong advantage in singles.
LSU sophomores Sebastian Carlsson and Julien Gauthier came from behind to beat Ole Miss’ Kalle Norberg and Otto Sauer, 8-5. Cluskey and LSU senior Jonathan Tragardh were not as lucky, losing to Ole Miss’ Devin Britton and Tucker Vorster, 8-6.
Ole Miss won the first four singles matches to clinch the match.
“There aren’t many teams that will present a better singles line up than Ole Miss,” Brown said. “They were able to turn the momentum back with the three quick singles victories, but we did a good job of still giving ourselves a chance on the other courts. We just weren’t able to finish on courts four and five.”
LADY TIGERS LOSE TWO MATCHES ON WEEKEND
The women’s team lost both of its matches this weekend on the road.
After a 5-2 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., Friday, the Lady Tigers dropped a 4-3 decision to Mississippi State on Sunday.
Like the men’s side, the Lady Tigers and Lady Bulldogs started their match with singles play because of the threat of rain.
The doubles point had to be played indoors because of inclement weather.
The Lady Tigers dropped both of their doubles matches and three of six singles matches.
“Mississippi State came out and played with a lot of hunger,” LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis in a news release. “They have struggled this year, but they came out and played a great match.”
LSU was less successful against Ole Miss. The Lady Tigers lost two of three doubles matches and four of six singles matches against the Lady Rebels.
LSU senior Staten Spencer was on the winning side for both doubles and singles, beating Ole Miss’ Mimi Renaudin in singles and teamed up with LSU junior Nicole Kantor to beat Renaudin and Laura van de Stroet in doubles.
“Ole Miss played a very good match, and until we learn how to play with the same intensity on the road that we play with at home, we won’t get better,” Minnis said. “We have to learn how to play with that same intensity in order to stay competitive.”
 
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