The No. 29 LSU men’s tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 19 Louisville Friday afternoon in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Tigers (0-1) got off to a strong start when junior Sebastian Carlsson and freshman Stefan Szacinski edged off No. 33 Alejandro Calligari and Robert Hall in a tiebreak, 9-8 (7-0), to clinch the doubles point.
But singles play was not as kind to the Tigers’ rackets, as Carlsson dropped his singles match to No. 46 Austen Childs, 6-4, 7-5, and sophomore Neal Skupski, who entered the match ranked at No. 26, lost to No. 84 Simon Childs, 6-3, 6-4.
One Tiger did show promise on the court, as sophomore Mark Bowtell cruised by No. 81 Andrew Carter, 6-2, 6-3.
LSU takes on No. 13 Florida State, who was upended by Wisconsin on Friday, on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, the No. 28 women’s tennis team didn’t have it any easier in the women’s portion of the ITA Kickoff in Los Angeles.
The Lady Tigers (2-1) were blanked by Southeastern Conference foe Auburn, 4-0, Friday afternoon.
Sophomore Whitney Wolf was upended by No. 71 Fani Chifchieva in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-2, while senior Nicole Kantor struggled with Myrthe Molenveld, 6-3, 6-4.
LSU will take on San Diego on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in a consolation match.
—- Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected].