Louisiana State University Team Page
MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 20 LSU men’s tennis team (16-11) picked up a 4-2 win over No. 40 Stanford (12-12) Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Malibu, Calif., at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
“We certainly weren’t thrilled to see Stanford in the draw,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “They’re always a good program and they’re always a hurdle to overcome. We responded really well with great fight and played some great tennis. It was great to see the level that we were able to rise to.”
This is the first time that LSU has defeated Stanford in the NCAA Tournament in four all-time meetings, including the 1988 championship match where Stanford earned a 5-2 win. The last time these two teams met in the NCAA Tournament was in the 1992 quarterfinal where the Cardinal came away with a 5-2 victory.
The Tigers got off to a slow start, losing the doubles point to the Cardinal. On court one, LSU’s No. 31 pair of Stefan Szacinski and Tam Trinh were dealt an 8-6 loss to Stanford’s No. 54 Denis Lin and John Morrissey. The Tigers evened the doubles matches after an 8-5 victory by LSU’s Boris Arias and Chris Simpson over Jamin Ball and Daniel Ho on court three. The Cardinal secured the doubles point after Maciek Romanowicz and Robert Stineman defeated LSU’s Olivier Borsos and Roger Anderson 8-6 on court two.
It did not take long for the Tigers to turn the tide and take control of the match at the start of singles.
LSU’s Borsos tied up the match at 1-1 following his 6-1, 6-1 victory on court three over Stanford’s Nolan Paige. No. 91 senior Szacinski gave the Tigers their first lead of the afternoon after besting Stanford’s Matt Kandath 6-0, 6-2 on court two. This was Szacinski’s ninth win in his last ten matches.
LSU freshman Trinh extended the Tigers lead to 3-0 with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win on court six over Stanford’s Lin. The Cardinal earned their lone singles victory on court five behind a 6-2, 6-4 victory by Ho over LSU’s Arias. No. 42 sophomore Simpson clinched the victory for LSU on court one with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 50 Morrissey.
LSU’s second round match will be Saturday at 3 p.m. CT against the winner of the No. 12 Pepperdine/UC Santa Barbara match.
The full tournament bracket can be viewed at http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/tennis-men/d1/2012. The Regional homepage can be found at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/sports/m-tennis/ncaa-tourney.html.For up-to-date information and behind the scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men's team on Twitter @lsutennis, and follow head coach Jeff Brown @LSUCoachJBrown and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
2013 NCAA Tournament – First Round
Stanford vs. LSU
May 10, 2013 at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
#20 LSU 4, #40 Stanford 2
Singles competition
1. #42 Chris Simpson (LSU) def. #50 John Morrissey (STAN) 7-5, 6-1
2. #91 Stefan Szacinski (LSU) def. Matt Kandath (STAN) 6-0, 6-2
3. Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. Nolan Paige (STAN) 6-1, 6-1
4. Mark Bowtell (LSU) vs. Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
5. Daniel Ho (STAN) def. Boris Arias (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Denis Lin (STAN) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #54 Denis Lin/John Morrissey (STAN) def. #31 Stefan Szacinski/Tam Trinh (LSU) 8-6
2. Maciek Romanowicz/Robert Stineman (STAN) def. Olivier Borsos/Roger Anderson (LSU) 8-6
3. Boris Arias/Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Jamin Ball/Daniel Ho (STAN) 8-5
Match Notes:
Stanford 12-12; National ranking #40
LSU 16-11; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,6,5,1)
