Rice University
LSU
Owls Fall to LSU at NCAA Tournament
5/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 8, 2009
The 34th-ranked Rice Owls saw their season come to a close on Friday with a 4-0 loss to 27th-ranked LSU in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at the W.T. "Dub" Robinson Tennis Stadium in Baton Rouge.
LSU (12-10) will face second-ranked Ole Miss at 1 p.m. on Saturday while Rice ended its season at 17-11.
Unlike their earlier season match when the Tigers dominated the doubles competition, the teams battled to the wire for the first point of the day.
Rice's No. 2 doubles team of Bruno Rosa and Isamu Tachibana won their match, 8-4 and when the Owls' No. 3 duo of Sam Garforth-Bles and Christian Saravia held a service break and were in position to break before LSU battled back to win 9-7. The Tigers' No. 1 doubles tandem of Michael Venus and Neal Skupski, who are ranked second in the nation, saw Rice's top duo ot Christoph Müller and Tobias Scheil battle back from a 4-1 deficit before the Tigers closed them out 9-7 to give the hosts the first point of the match.
"Give LSU credit, they really played well today," Rice head coach Ron Smarr said. "We had a chance to grab the doubles point but could not close it out at No. 3. We were up a break and had a chance to get a second one. I'm not saying that would have changed the outcome, but it was tough to be so close and let it get away," he added.
LSU quickly extended the lead to 3-0 with straight set singles wins at No. 1 and No.3 and then closed it out with a win at No. 5. Rice's Christian Saravia won his first set and was leading 5-1 in the second when the Tigers clinched the match. Müller rebounded from a slow first set to take control at No. 2, while Isamu Tachibana won the first set at No. 4.
"If we had played them all to completion, it could easiily have been another 4-3 match with LSU," Smarr noted. "But LSU really outplayed us when it mattered and it's as simple as that. So now we'll turn our attention to getting Bruno and Christoph ready for the NCAA Singles Championships and wrap up what looks like a great recruiting year. With the players coming in and the progress our freshmen made this year, I'm really looking forward to what we can do in 2010," Smarr added.
Rice vs LSU
5/8/2009 at Baton Rouge, LA
(W.T. "Dub" Robinson Tennis Stadium)
#28 LSU 4, #34 Rice 0
Singles competition
1. #7 Michael Venus (LSU) def. #46 Bruno Rosa (RICE) 6-2, 6-3
2. James Cluskey (LSU) vs. Christoph Müller (RICE) 6-4, 1-5, unfinished
3. Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Tobias Scheil (RICE) 6-1, 6-2
4. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) vs. Isamu Tachibana (RICE) 6-7, 5-0, unfinished
5. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Sam Garforth-Bles (RICE) 7-5, 6-1
6. Mark Bowtell (LSU) vs. Christian Saravia (RICE) 4-6, 2-5, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #2 Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. #55 Christoph Müller/Tobias Scheil (RICE) 9-7
2. Bruno Rosa/Isamu Tachibana (RICE) def. James Cluskey/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU)
8-4 3. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Sam Garforth-Bles/Christian Saravia (RICE) 9-7
Match Notes:
Rice 17-11; National ranking #34
LSU 12-10; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,5)
First Round 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Players Mentioned
