In most sports, an injury simply means that a team has to fill an empty position. But when a tennis team loses one of their competitors, every player below him in the lineup has to move up a spot and face a tougher opponent, letting an injury at the top cost the team in every match.

That was the predicament the No. 6 Illinois men’s tennis team has faced since losing its third singles player, Ruben Gonzales, to an undisclosed injury. They battled through it to beat two Big Ten opponents, but it finally cost them on their spring break road trip against No. 10 Louisiana State.

The Illini fell 4-3 to the Tigers last Tuesday in a match full of lost opportunities. Without Gonzales, the Illini lost their bottom two doubles matches and bottom two singles matches. But they still had chances to take the match, going to three sets at fifth singles and leading in both sets at second singles.

“(It was) very disappointing to lose today,” head coach Brad Dancer said. “The score is not indicative of the effort the guys gave.”

LSU jumped out to a quick lead, taking the bottom two doubles matches easily. At the top spot, Illinois’s Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe took down the No. 14 doubles team in the country, Ken Skupski and James Cluskey, but the point was already lost.

When the singles started, the Illini quickly fell into a 2-0 hole, as Jordan Knue, playing because of Gonzales’ injury, dropped his match 6-4, 6-0 at the sixth spot. But the tide turned a little when the sixth-ranked Anderson romped Skupski, the No. 24 player in the nation, 6-2, 6-1 at first singles. When sophomore Marc Spicijaric dropped Kevin Dessauer 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4, the match was finally level. But the Illini could not stay with the Tigers for long, as Rowe lost 7-5, 6-4 at second singles despite leading in both sets. At fifth singles, Brandon Davis took a wave of momentum into a crucial third set, but couldn’t sustain it and fell 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to give the Tigers the match. GD Jones finished the match strong for the Illini, defeating Colt Gaston 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 at third singles, but it was too late.

“It just seems we made some of the same mistakes that have cost us matches before,” Dancer said. “Overall, LSU played well at certain positions, and were able to fight back in their matches when they needed it to capture the victory.”