The No. 11-ranked LSU men’s tennis team remained undefeated after recording a 6-1 win over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday. With the win, LSU (7-0) will head to Chicago to face some of the top schools in the nation at the National Team Indoor Championships. Play will begin on Thursday when LSU takes on No. 8 Duke.
Led by the doubles pair of junior Mark Growcott and sophomore Ken Skupski, ranked No. 13 nationally, LSU managed to sweep the doubles matches against Lafayette.
Skupski and Growcott defeated Lafayette’s No. 46 ranked duo of Evghenii Corduneanu and Dusan Tabak 8-4 on the No. 1 court.
The No. 34 ranked duo of sophomore Danny Bryan and senior Jason Hazley followed up on the No. 2 court with an 8-6 win over Amanjot Singh and Kerri Abaker.
Coach Jeff Brown said the win will prove beneficial for this weekend’s tournament.
“We learned quite a few things about ourselves, and we did that with a win,” Brown said. “This match will help us next week when we’re playing in the National Indoors.”
Skupski proved strong in the singles competition, picking up a win on the No. 1 court over Corduneanu, 7-5, 6-3. Skupski is currently ranked No. 12 in singles competition.
LSU’s only singles loss came on the No. 3 court when Hazley fell to the No. 87 ranked Singh, 7-6, 6-3.
Sophomore Colt Gaston earned the win on the No. 6 court in defeating Lafayette’s Akaber, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Brown said going on the road with the tough competition will help the team.
“These road matches are all going to be challenges,” Brown said. “Sometimes going on the road brings a team together more. Hopefully by the time we get back we will be a better team.”
With the matches coming up this weekend, Hazley said the team has a good bit of confidence.
“We’re definitely looking to win,” Hazley said. “There’s no reason we can’t, so we’re all looking forward to it.”
A win against Duke on Thursday would set up a likely match against No. 1 Baylor on Friday.
On the women’s side, LSU (5-1) is coming off a 4-3 win at Houston last week and is set to take on Tulsa and Florida State this weekend at home.
Like the men, the Lady Tigers swept through the doubles matches to take the early lead.
Junior Lauren Seaman and freshman Tiffany Tucker defeated Houston’s Biljana Dimovska and Diana Martin on the No. 1 court, 8-2. The win extended Seaman and Tucker’s undefeated streak to six.
In the singles matches, junior Marina Chiarelli suffered a loss on the No. 4 court, 6-4, 6-4.
On the No. 2 court, Seaman stole a win against Houston’s Brianna Bateup, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.