BATON ROUGE, La. — The 45th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team ended its NCAA run with a 4-0 loss at the hands of 15th-ranked LSU on Saturday at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Commodores, under second-year Head Coach Ian Duvenhage, upset No. 18 Tulsa on Friday to advance to the second round of the tournament, but regional host LSU proved to be too much.
Vanderbilt struck first in the match, as Andy Mack and Jordan Magarik teamed up to win at No. 3 doubles, 8-6. At No. 2 doubles, however, the Tigers eked out an 8-6 victory of their own before also claiming victory on court one to earn the doubles’ point.
LSU would claim straight-set victories in the top three singles’ positions, with the clinching point coming on court three. Commodores led on courts four and five when the match was decided and play suspended.
Vijay Paul and Andy Mack had each won their sets, 6-2, and were leading their second sets when play was halted.
Mack and fellow senior Jordan Magarik played their final match as Commodores, but the season is not over for junior Ryan Preston. The Northbrook, Ill., native has been invited to participate in the 2007 NCAA Singles Championship, May 23-28, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. Ranked 45th in the nation, Preston will be Vanderbilt’s lone representative in the 64-player field.
The LSU Tigers advance to the round of 16 next week in Athens, where they will face Ohio State.
AGATE
LSU 4, Vanderbilt 0
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
DOUBLES
1. Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Vijay Paul/Ryan Preston (VU) 8-3
2. James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Nik Cromydas/Evan Dufaux (VU), 8-6
3. Andy Mack/Jordan Magarik (VU) def. Kevin Dessauer/Jan Zelezny (LSU) 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
SINGLES
1. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #45 Ryan Preston (VU), 6-2, 6-4
2. #32 Danny Bryan (LSU) def. #117 Nik Cromydas (VU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Evan Dufaux (VU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Vijay Paul (VU) led #94 Kevin Dessauer (LSU), 6-2, 6-5 DNF
5. Andy Mack (VU) led James Cluskey (LSU), 6-2, 4-2 DNF
6. Jan Zelezny (LSU) led Jordan Magarik (VU), 6-4, 3-3 DNF
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
