The Ole Miss men’s tennis team, ranked No. 34 nationally, was narrowly defeated by No. 7 LSU with a score of 4-3 during their fourth conference match on Sunday at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge.
LSU secured an early lead by winning the doubles point and extended their advantage in singles play, taking two more matches to go up 3-0. Ole Miss responded when Noah Schlagenhauf won his singles match against Enzo Kohlmann with scores of 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), putting the Rebels on the board.
The decisive moment came down to court six where Benjamin Martin of Ole Miss faced Sasa Markovic from LSU. After splitting the first two sets, Markovic gained a 5-2 lead in the third set and ultimately clinched both his match and the overall victory for LSU.
Ole Miss’s other points came from Pietro Pampanin, who overcame No. 102 Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 6-3), and Vlado Jankanj, who defeated Alessio Vasquez (2-6, 7-6 [7-2], 6-4).
In doubles play, LSU’s pairings won on courts one and two to secure the opening point. The only doubles win for Ole Miss came from M. Chambonniere and Benjamin Martin.
With this result, Ole Miss now holds a record of 13 wins and three losses overall and is one win and three losses in Southeastern Conference play. LSU improves to a record of 13 wins and two losses overall with a conference record of two wins and one loss.
Ole Miss will next face No. 37 Vanderbilt at home in Oxford on Sunday, March 8 at the Palmer/Salloum Outdoor Tennis Center.
