NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 49 Vanderbilt Commodores suffered a 5-2 setback to the No. 48 LSU Tigers Sunday afternoon. With the loss the Commodores now own a 12-9 record and 3-3 SEC slate.
Vanderbilt lost to the Tigers following a huge 4-3 victory over the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies on Friday night.
Sunday’s conference clash featured a tight doubles competition, but not before No. 33 Rhys Johnson and Cameron Klinger could earn a dominant 6-1 victory over the 10th-ranked team in the country, LSU’s Daigle/Arias. The ranked win was the duo’s second in a row, fourth overall and second highest. The tandem heads into next week’s play boasting a 14-4 record at No. 1 doubles.
Following the victory on court one, Tate Allwardt and Baker Newman fell at No. 2 to the Tigers’ Trinh/Butsch; 6-2. With the doubles point riding on court three, VU’s Pen Binet and Daniel Valent held the score level at 4-all, but the Tigers took the lead and the doubles point, 6-4.
Down a point, No. 67 Valent put on a powerful performance on court one to tie the match score. The sophomore only allowed two games slip away throughout his entire match, defeating No. 69 Daigle, 6-1, 6-1. With the victory, Valent now owns a 13-5 record on the spring.
The Tigers took the 3-1 advantage as Klinger and Johnson fell on courts three and two. Klinger’s 6-3, 6-3 loss to Csonka was the freshman’s first defeat on court three, now owning a 6-1 record.
After taking the 3-1 lead on court two, Johnson allowed the Tigers five straight games to take the set, 6-3. The senior rebounded by taking a 5-1 advantage in the second set, to close it out at 6-3. LSU’s Justin Butsch powered through the crucial third set for the win, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
With the Tigers looking for their fourth win of the match, Newman saved the LSU clinch with a three set victory on court four for the ‘Dores. The sophomore took an easy first set victory, but at 4-all in the second, LSU pulled away to force the third. The Miami native chipped away at the LSU lead, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
At 3-2 the Tigers claimed the clinching win on court six, as Alex Ross fell in three sets. The freshman delayed the match, by forcing a third set through a hard fought tiebreaker 7-6(4). Ultimately, Ross lost to Andrew Korinek in the final set; 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.
VU’s final loss of the match came on court five. Like some of his teammates, Kris Yee also failed to convert on a 4-4 decision to head into a third set. The senior fell to LSU’s Arias; 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
The Commodores head out on the road next weekend, traveling to Gainesville, Fla. to face the Gators on Friday at 5:00 pm CT. a That Sunday, Vanderbilt takes on the Auburn Tigers in Alabama at 1:00 pm CT.
