Ken Skupski, Mark Growcott and Paul White picked up some hardware this week when the Southeastern Conference announced its regular season awards.
Paul White, a junior from Lake Charles, was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. White maintains a 3.93 grade point average in biology while playing at the No. 6 singles position for the Tigers.
“Paul is an excellent example, in its truest sense, of what a student-athlete is,” LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown said.
White also was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete last season.
It was the second year in a row an LSU player earned the award. Bryan Fisher picked it up for the Tigers last season.
Ken Skupski and Mark Growcott both were named first-team All-SEC in doubles play. The duo boasts a 9-2 record in conference matches this season, which is best in the SEC.
“Ken and Mark earned this honor on the courts,” Brown said. “They are very deserving of their honors and if they reach their potential there will be many more to come.”
Skupski also earned first-team honors in singles play, while Growcott earned second-team honors.
No. 12 LSU battles Auburn in the first round of the men’s SEC Tournament today at 8 a.m. in Athens, Ga.
LSU (18-7, 5-6) finished the season with a five-match winning streak. The Tigers defeated No. 18 Tulane and Arkansas in the final week of the season.
The Tigers are 29-9 all-time against Auburn and have won the last three matches.
LSU defeated Auburn 6-1 in Baton Rouge two weeks ago, but Brown said Auburn is a dangerous team despite LSU’s recent success.
“Auburn is an extremely good team,” Brown said. “If they are healthy, they could give us as good a match as any team we’ve faced.”
No. 47 Gabor Zolton Pelva leads Auburn in singles play and pairs up with teammate Alex Schweizer to make up the No. 16 doubles team in the country.
LSU has won the doubles point in the last 10 matches.
No. 9 seed LSU travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament today at 9 a.m.
The Lady Tigers (12-10, 4-7 SEC) ride a three-game conference winning streak into the tournament and have won five of the last six games.
“We’ve been playing really well as of late,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “We just have to hope we come out with that competitive fire at the very start of the match.”
Mississippi State (11-6, 5-6 SEC) defeated LSU 4-3 earlier this season in Baton Rouge.
The Lady Tigers are 11-1 this season when winning the doubles point to start a match but lost the doubles point to State earlier this season.
LSU was without Lauren Seaman for that match. Since her return to the lineup, the Lady Tigers have won five of the last six doubles points.
The winner of the LSU-Mississippi State match faces the SEC regular-season champion Kentucky on Friday at 9 a.m.