BATON ROUGE, La. – Playing its third consecutive road match of the season, Vanderbilt’s 22nd-ranked men’s tennis team was defeated by No. 44 LSU, 6-1, on Sunday at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The loss was Vanderbilt’s second in a row, dropping the team to 9-4 overall and 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference. LSU (6-3, 2-2 SEC) won its second straight match after topping Kentucky, 4-0, on Saturday.
Vanderbilt’s lone point came in the No. 3 singles position with Nick Cromydas winning a three-set match over LSU’s Colt Gaston. Cromydas defeated Gaston, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. The third set was played to a 10-point tiebreak because LSU had already clinched the overall match.
After winning the doubles point in each of Vanderbilt’s last three matches, the Commodores saw their streak come to an end against the Tigers on Sunday. VU had won all three doubles matches in its last two matches, but had the tables reversed on Sunday when LSU won all three matches.
The first completed match came in the No. 3 position where VU’s Vijay Paul and Adam Baker were defeated by LSU’s Sebastian Carlsson and Kevin Dessauer, 8-0.
Clinching the doubles point was LSU’s team of Colt Gaston and Jan Zelezny, who upended Vanderbilt’s Nick Cromydas and Bryant Salcedo, 8-4, in the No. 2 position. The loss for Cromydas and Salcedo ended their six-match winning streak.
In the No. 1 position VU’s Evan Dufaux and Ryan Preston were downed by James Cluskey and Michael Venus, 8-5.
In singles play, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the match, as Kevin Dessauer of LSU defeated Evan Dufaux, 6-2, 6-0, in the No. 5 position.
LSU was able to extend its lead to three (3-0) in the No. 6 position with LSU’s Sebastian Carlsson topping Vanderbilt’s Alex Zotov, 6-3, 6-4.
Clinching the match for LSU was the Tigers’ Jan Zelezny, who topped No. 82 Vijay Paul, 6-1, 6-3, in the No. 2 position.
In the No. 4 position, LSU’s James Cluskey defeated Bryant Salcedo, 6-4, 6-4, to take a 5-0 lead in the match.
LSU’s final point came in the No. 1 position, as No. 86 Michael Venus defeated Vanderbilt’s 65th-ranked Ryan Preston, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
After enjoying its first off week of the spring, Vanderbilt will return to the courts on March 21 at Auburn.
Sunday’s Results:
No. 44 LSU (6-3, 2-2 SEC) def. No. 22 Vanderbilt (9-4, 1-3 SEC), 6-1
Doubles:
1. James Cluskey/Michael Venus (LSU) def. Ryan Preston/Evan Dufaux (VU), 8-5
2. Colt Gaston/Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Nick Cromydas/Bryant Salcedo (VU), 8-4
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Vijay Paul/Adam Baker (VU), 8-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
1. No. 86 Michael Venus (LSU) def. No. 65 Ryan Preston (VU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. No. 82 Vijay Paul (VU), 6-1, 6-3
3. Nick Cromydas (VU) def. Colt Gaston (LSU), 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
4. James Cluskey (LSU) def. Bryant Salcedo (VU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) def. Evan Dufaux (VU), 6-2, 6-0
6. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Alex Zotov (VU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 4, 3, 6
