There’s nothing like a little drama, and LSU’s 4-3 win against Nebraska on Tuesday afternoon at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium had more than its fair share.
What seemed an easy victory for the Tigers turned into a heated battle including sportsmanship violations, verbal arguments and four singles matches that went the distance.
“It was a great fight,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “It’s a one-on-one thing. That’s how tennis players fight. You can’t hit the other guy.”
Junior Mark Bowtell fought back from a set down and 1-4 in the second set to gut out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win against Andrew Stenger to clinch the elusive winning point for the Tigers, who led the match 3-0 at the time.
Senior Sebastian Carlsson and junior Neal Skupski, the nation’s No. 12 double’s duo, notched an 8-5 win against No. 65 Chris Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim.
The win followed a pair of tight wins by LSU on courts one and two.
Senior Julien Gauthier and sophomore Olivier Borsos topped Calin Paar and Robert Schulze, and sophomores Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski followed suit with a break at 8-7 to win 9-7.
Skupski and Carlsson made quick work of Paar and Tom Blackwell in singles, creating a 3-0 LSU lead.
Nebraska cut the Tigers’ lead to just one, but Bowtell came through with a win to secure the match.
The Lady Tigers (7-7, 3-1) seek a bounce-back performance after No. 23 Tulsa snapped their five-match win streak.
“We had opportunities against Tulsa,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “We’ve got to close those matches out to get to where we’re hoping to get to.”
Minnis’ squad welcomes Colorado and cross-town rival Southern to “The Dub” for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The Buffaloes limp into Baton Rouge on a six-match skid.
“Colorado is going to be hungry to beat somebody,” Minnis said. “We just need to make sure we’re really ready to play.”
 
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Contact Hunt Palmer at [email protected]