NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt got wins from Adam Baker, Vijay Paul and Alex Zotov, but it wasn’t enough to get past No. 41 LSU on Friday inside the Currey Tennis Center as the Tigers defeated the 39th-ranked Commodores, 4-3.
Vanderbilt (4-9, 0-3 SEC) had leads of 2-1 and 3-2 in the match, but was unable to hold off the Tigers (5-4, 1-2 SEC), who handed the Commodores their seventh straight loss. Despite, Vanderbilt’s record, it has been in each match this season. Five of the nine losses have been by one point, while the other four were by two points.
LSU was able to take 1-0 lead and the upper hand in the match by sweeping the three doubles matches to claim the doubles point. It was the fifth straight match Vanderbilt has lost the doubles point.
In singles play, an injury by senior Nick Cromydas forced Vanderbilt Head Coach Ian Duvenhage to shuffle the singles lineup after doubles play. Cromydas was slated to play No. 2 singles, so Duvenhage moved everyone up one slot and James Moye entered the lineup for the first time this spring in the No. 6 position.
Despite the absence of one of their top players, the Commodores sprinted out of the gate winning two straight singles matches to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Vanderbilt also won the first set of five of six matches.
Vanderbilt sophomore Alex Zotov got Vanderbilt on the board first with a 6-2, 6-2 win over LSU’s Julien Gauthier in the No. 5 position. The win moved Zotov’s win streak to four and he has now won six of his last seven matches.
The Commodores took their first lead of the match when Vijay Paul defeated Neal Skupski, 6-4, 6-2, in the No. 2 position. Paul’s win came in the slot vacated by Cromydas. The win pushed his record to 7-6 this spring and 1-0 at the No. 2 spot.
LSU was able to knot the match at two when the Tigers’ Sebastian Carlsson rallied from one set down to defeat Charlie Jones, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 4 position.
Soon after surrendering the lead, Vanderbilt was able to regain it when Adam Baker earned a 7-5, 7-6 (7-0) win over LSU’s James Cluskey, in the No. 3 position. The win was the second in a row for Baker, who had never played higher than the No. 4 position.
The Tigers were able to tie the score at three when 9th-ranked Michael Venus rallied from a set down to top Vanderbilt’s Bryant Salcedo, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 1 position.
LSU’s win set the stage for the sixth and final match of the day between Vanderbilt’s James Moye and LSU’s Mark Bowtell in the No. 6 position. Moye trailed 4-2 in the first set before rallying to force a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Moye fought off two set points in a back-and-forth battle before Bowtell prevailed, 7-6 (11-9). Bowtell would then take the second set, 6-4, to clinch the overall match.
Vanderbilt will return to the courts Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Commodores host No. 53 Arkansas at the Currey Tennis Center.
