Tulane, Louisville Fall in NCAA Men's Tennis Second Round

Ted Angelinos

In second round action of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, No. 20 Tulane lost to No. 10 LSU, 4-1, while No. 5 Illinois defeated No. 33 Louisville, 4-1.

C-USA tournament champion Tulane lost the doubles point as LSU's Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston posted an 8-3 win over Ted Angelinos and Jacobo Hernandez on court two. LSU's Ken Skupski and Growcott avenged an earlier loss this season to 27th-ranked Koch and Albert Sottocorno. No. 6-ranked Skupski and Growcott clinched the point for LSU with an 8-6 win on court one.

Gaston put the Tigers up 2-0 with his 6-3, 6-2 win on court six over Jonah Kane-West. Angelinos gave Tulane its first team point when he beat Peter Richman, 6-4, 6-3 on court four. Skupski took three sets to beat David Goulet on court two, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. Growcott broke Koch's serve after a long match point to win, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the match for LSU.

Tulane closes its season with a 22-6 record, setting a new school standard for victories.

Match Summary
LSU 4, Tulane 1

Singles competition:
1. #79 Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Dmitriy Koch (TUL) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. #36 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. David Goulet (TUL) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Jacobo Hernandez (TUL) 7-6, 3-3
4. Ted Angelinos (TUL) def. Peter Richman (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Alberto Sottocorno (TUL) vs. Danny Bryan (LSU) no result
6. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Jonah Kane West (TUL) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition:
1. #6 Ken Skupski/Mark Growcott (LSU) def. #27 Dmitriy Koch/Alberto Sottocorno (TUL) 8-6
2. Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Ted Angelinos/Jacobo Hernandez (TUL) 8-3
3. Peter Richman/Jason Hazley (LSU) vs. David Goulet/Jonah Kane West (TUL) 6-5, unfinished

Match Notes:
Tulane 22-6; National ranking #20
LSU 21-8; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,4,2,1)
Match began at 1:30 p.m. after a rain delay.

Tulane head coach Robert Klein
"It was closer than the final score indicates. But that's college tennis. LSU's got a great team. We only got one win, period. They got four and we got one."

On playing against LSU in their home stadium.
"It was a great crowd today. Lots of excitement. A few people made the trip from New Orleans. LSU deserved to host this year. That's what you get for being tops in country."

Louisville jumped to a 1-0 over Illinois after winning the doubles point. Illinois' Pramod Dabir and Ryler DeHeart never could catch up after they were broken early in the match as they fell 8-6 to the Cardinals top attack of Jeremy Clark and Jakob Gustafsson. Fighting Illini freshman Ryan Rowe and senior Evan Zeder also found themselves in a similar situation at No. 3, as they failed to inch close enough falling 8-6 to the Cards' Damar Johnson and Mark Kennedy. GD Jones and Chris Martin (Illinois) had their match abandoned at 5-6 against U of L's Octavian Nicodim and Slavko Radman.

Illinois then posted four straight singles wins to clinch the match. At No. 6, Illinois' Dabir won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 over Louisville's Nicolas Houard. Martin quickly followed with a straight set victory, 6-1, 6-3, against Clark. Gustafsson succumbed to Illinois' Monte Tucker, 6-0, 6-2. At No. 4, Ruben Gonzales (Illinois)clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Nicodim.

Louisville finishes the season at 22-10, marking it first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.

Match Summary
No. 5 Illinois 4, Louisville 1

Doubles
1. Jeremy Clark/Jakob Gustafsson (LOU)def. P. Dabir/R. DeHeart (ILL) 8-6
2. C. Martin/GD Jones (ILL) vs. Octavian Nicodim/Slavko Radman (LOU) 6-5 (DNF)
3. Damar Johnson/Mark Kennedy (LOU) def. 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles
1. #23 GD Jones (ILL) vs. #76 Damar Johnson (LOU) 6-3, 4-4 (DNF)
2. #8 Ryler DeHeart (ILL) vs. Slavko Radman (LOU) 6-3, 4-5 (DNF)
3. Monte Tucker (ILL) def. Jakob Gustafsson (LOU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. Octavian Nicodim (LOU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Chris Martin (ILL) def. Jeremy Clark (LOU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Pramod Dabir (ILL) def. Nicolas Houard (LOU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 4