Alabama
LSU
Men's Tennis Edged by No. 23 LSU, 4-3
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 60th-ranked men's tennis team lost a close 4-3 decision to No. 23 LSU on Friday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. With the loss, the Crimson Tide moves to 12-11 overall and 2-4 in Southeastern Conference play, while the win brings the Tigers to 14-3 on the season and 4-2 in league play.
Alabama took a 1-0 lead after earning the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. The Tide's new duo of Sam Edwards and Nikko Madregallejo on court three had a commanding 6-1 victory over LSU's Justin Butsch and Chris Simpson, which finished in only 25 minutes. From there, it was Alabama's 32nd-ranked team of Korey Lovett and Becker O'Shaughnessey at the top that outplayed the Tigers' 18th-ranked tandem of Boris Arias and Jordan Daigle for the 6-4 victory and the doubles point.
LSU would win the first point in singles to even the match up at 1-1 as 85th-ranked Daigle held on to edge Lovett, 7-6(3), 6-4. The Tigers then took a 2-1 advantage overall when Arias won a back-and-forth battle with Danny Kerznerman on court four, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1. A 7-6(1), 6-4 victory for Madregallejo over Tam Trinh on court three evened the match once again before LSU jumped back in front with a 7-5, 7-6(4) win on court six for Andrew Korinek over Edwards. Senior captain Stuart Kenyon came through in the clutch, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 on court five to tie the match once again, putting all eyes on court two where the Tigers' Simpson led O'Shaughnessey 5-2 in the third set. From there, O'Shaughnessey won three straight games to even the set at 5-5, but Simpson would claim the next two for the 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory.
The Tide returns to action on Sunday, March 22, when it hosts a doubleheader with No. 7 Texas A&M and Mercer. The match against the Aggies will begin at Noon, while the match against the Bears is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
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