BATON ROUGE — LSU opened their dual season Saturday with a 7-0 win over Southern Miss and a 6-1 win over Southern in W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The No. 17 Tigers did not lose any doubles matches against either team. Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley, LSU’s 35th-ranked duo, beat Southern Miss’ Reid Bourgeois and Thomas Funke, 8-3.
LSU earned six points in singled against Southern Miss. Cory Ross sealed his 6-0, 7-6 (7-2) win over Bougeois with two aces in a row in the tiebreaker.
Ken Skupski, LSU’s 33rd-ranked freshman, made his home debut with a tough 6-3, 6-4 win over Southern Miss’ David Canudas. Peter Richman, Hazley, Fisher and Danny Bryan also won in the first match.
“We knew (Southern Miss) was good,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We were focused, but this was the first match here so some of the guys were extremely nervous. We did a good job closing the doubles point and we got early leads in singles. That is the formula for winning.”
Cory Ross and Danny Bryan moved to No.1 doubles after the first match. They beat David Ensignia and Alex Hidalgo of Southern, 8-2.
Southern’s only point came from a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 win by Alex Hidalgo at No. 3 singles over Fisher.
“Bryan ran into their best player today,” Brown said. “When you get into a tiebreaker anything can happen. Hidalgo was putting on the pressure and we’d rather have (Fisher) on the defensive.
“We played well against Southern. Our guys out-hustled them.”
LSU freshmen Colt Gaston and Danny Bryan were also playing in their first match in the “Dub.” Bryan won two singles matches and Gaston beat Southern’s Michael Date, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Paul White played his first matches of the season against Southern. He and Richman beat Gregory Pipkins and Alejandro Galindo in doubles. White beat Pipkins, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.
The wins come before a two-week break for LSU. The Tigers play again Feb. 14 against UL-Lafayette at home.
Southern Miss vs LSU
Jan 31, 2004 at Baton Rouge, La.
#17 LSU 7, Southern Miss 0
Singles competition:
1. #33 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. David Canudas (USM) 6-3, 6-4
2. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Thomas Funke (USM) 6-1, 6-1
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Juan Garzon (USM) 6-1, 6-1
4. Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Chris Rea (USM) 6-3, 6-4
5. Cory Ross (LSU) def. Reid Bourgeois (USM) 6-0, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Dylan Mezey (USM) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Doubles competition:
1. #35 Bryan Fisher/Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Reid Bourgeois/Thomas Funke (USM) 8-3
2. Sebastian Rutka/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Chris Rea/David Canudas (USM) 8-3
3. Danny Bryan/Cory Ross (LSU) def. Dylan Mezey/Mark Lux (USM) 8-2
Match Notes:
Southern Miss 0-0
LSU 0-0; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,1,2,3,6,5)
Official: Richie Weaver
Southern vs LSU
Jan 31, 2004 at Baton Rouge, La.
#17 LSU 6, Southern 1
Singles competition:
1. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. David Ensignia (SU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Alejandro Galindo (SU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Alex Hidalgo (SU) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0
4. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Christopher Williams (SU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Michael Date (SU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Paul White (LSU) def. Gregory Pipkins (SU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. Cory Ross/Danny Bryan (LSU) def. David Ensignia/Alex Hidalgo (SU) 8-2
2. Peter Richman/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Gregory Pipkins/Alejandro Galindo (SU) 8-1
3. Paul White/Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Michael Date/Christopher Williams (SU) 8-1
Match Notes:
LSU 1-0; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,6,1,2,3)