Tulane University
#32 LSU
No. 35 MTN Knocks off No. 32 LSU, 4-2
Mar 2, 2016 | Men's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - After dropping their first doubles point of the 2016 dual season, the No. 35 Tulane men's tennis team (8-3) rallied in singles play vs in-state rival No. 32 LSU (6-3) on Wednesday afternoon, claiming five of the six first sets, before storming ahead for the 4-2 victory. It marked the program's first win over LSU since April 7, 2004.
"What a great effort from our guys," Tulane men's tennis head coach Mark Booras stated. "To beat an in-state rival like this, especially a SEC team with so much experience. To beat them 4-2 after dropping the doubles point showed a lot of character from our guys. Just so proud of how they fought today."
The Wave's undefeated streak in doubles came to an end when the Tigers jumped on Tulane early with wins on courts one and two. Tulane's No. 27 ranked doubles pair of Dominik Koepfer and Chi-Shan Jao suffered their first loss of the season, dropping a 6-3 decision to No. 17 Jordan Daigle and Boris Arias. Yet, Sebastian Rey and Constantin Schmitz remained perfect on the spring with a 6-3 win vs. Andrew Korinek/Gabor Csonka, improving to 8-0. Then it came down to Alex and Ian Van Cott on court two against Justin Butsch/Tam Trinh. With the match all tied at five-all, LSU earned a pivotal break then held serve to clinch, 7-5.
However, the Green Wave quickly dug out of their 1-0 deficit thanks to Schmitz on court two, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, victory vs. Butsch, improving to 8-2 on the spring. Next, the Tigers went on to claim what was their final point and lead of the match when they secured a straight set victory on court four, as it was all Tulane after that.
Jao got the momentum rolling with a swift 6-0, 6-1, win over Simon Freund on court five, earning his fifth straight victory. Over on court one, No. 1 Koepfer was locked in a battle with No. 42 Daigle. Koepfer took the first set 6-2, but then dropped his first set of the season when Daigle rallied with a 6-4 second set. Koepfer simply retaliated by recording a 6-0 clinching third set as the senior won his 13th straight match on the year and garnered his 14th overall win against a ranked opponent (14-2).
With Tulane being just one point away now, all eyes turned to Rey on court three, who secured the first set 6-1, but dropped the second set to Arias, 6-3. Rey then jumped on Arias early in the third set, earning two breaks to gain a comfortable lead at 4-0. Later on, up 5-2, Rey broke Arias one last time to clinch not only his match, but the team match as well.
"Sebastian showed so much heart today," Booras added. "Just shows how gritty he is and how hungry he is to be successful and to push this team towards greatness. Proud that he was able to put himself in that position and really go after his game to get things done."
Up next, the Green Wave will look to keep their winning streak alive, now at four in a row, when they host No. 23 Memphis on Sunday, March 6, at 1 p.m. CT. Sunday's clash with the Tigers will wrap a six-match home-stand for Tulane.
Green Wave Results
#35 Tulane 4, #32 LSU 2
Singles competition
1. #1 Dominik Koepfer (TLN) def. #42 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
2. Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Justin Butsch (LSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Sebastian Rey (TLN) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
4. Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Alex Van Cott (TLN) 6-2, 6-0
5. Chi-Shan Jao (TLN) def. Simon Freund (LSU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Tyler Schick (TLN) vs. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #17 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) def. #27 Chi-Shan Jao/Dominik Koepfer (TLN) 6-3
2. Justin Butsch/Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Ian Van Cott/Alex Van Cott (TLN) 7-5
3. Sebastian Rey/Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Andrew Korinek/Gabor Csonka (LSU) 6-3
Players Mentioned
