Last season, junior Ken Skupski and senior Mark Growcott fell one match short of earning a national title.
The duo fell to Georgia’s John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in the NCAA Doubles Championship. This year, the British pair is set to regain their swagger after earning a preseason No. 1 ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
For Skupski, being part of the best duo in the nation is expected.
“We were one match short of the national championship,” Skupski said. “But we expected to be there all along, so it wasn’t news to us that we’re No. 1.”
The LSU men’s tennis team is coming off a successful weekend at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.
Men’s tennis coach Jeff Brown said keeping the No. 1 ranking through the season is more important than a preseason poll.
“They’re very focused on looking to the future,” Brown said. “It’s exciting to bring recognition to the program and we’re happy to have them ranked that high, but we’re focused on maintaining that until the end of the year.”
Joining the No. 1 ranked duo are juniors Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston, ranked No. 27 in the nation after finishing 12-0 last year.
Bryan and Gaston swept through the Rice Invitational last weekend with three consecutive wins, extending their winning streak to 15 matches.
“They seem to find a way to get it done more times than not,” Brown said. “They bring confidence playing in the No. 2 spot, where they would normally be No. 1 on any other team.”
LSU introduces three new players to the team this year.
Brown said a number of singles players came into the fall unprepared, and having just one week of practice did not make it easier.
“They need to get some work done,” Brown said. “We’ve only been practicing since last Monday, so what they’ve accomplished so far stems from work last summer.”
Because of effects from Hurricane Katrina, practice during the past two weeks proved a bit difficult. Members of the team, however, were able to get out and do what they could.
“Even though we were away from school, most of the team went to the PMAC in the mornings to help out, then practice in the afternoon,” Growcott said. “We didn’t have any water at practice, so we had to drink straight from the tap.”
At Sunday’s match, newcomer James Cluskey earned his first career win as a Tiger after defeating Virginia Tech’s Brent Wilkins in straight sets, while Jose Moncada earned a victory Friday with a straight set victory over South Florida’s Dilon Brazyna.
Overall, LSU completed eight singles victories, as well as six doubles victories over the weekend.
According to Brown, the two ranked doubles team are what lead the 2005 team.
“Obviously, guys look up to what Mark and Ken have done,” Brown said. “Mark tends to lead by example, while Ken and Colt are the verbal guys.”
Contact Jeff Sentell at [email protected]