BATON ROUGE — The No. 10 LSU men’s tennis team beat a feisty New Orleans squad, 6-1, Saturday in the Tigers’ final match before they begin Southeastern Conference play.
The Privateers (3-3) did not let LSU escape many matches easily, but the Tigers jumped ahead early to secure their 81st-consecutive win over an in-state opponent.
“It was a perfect match for us to play today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It’s great that we have schools in the state that can give us a challenging match. I thought we competed well in doubles and in singles I thought the guys did a good job.”
LSU (7-0) won all three doubles matches. The Tigers’ 13th-ranked combo of Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Gabriel Delarue and Luka Bernard at No. 1 doubles.
Singles competition was a bit tougher for the Tigers. Cory Ross finished with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles over Erwan Rebuffe and Peter Richman won, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 despite falling behind in the first set.
Hazley won his first set easily at No. 3 singles, but Nicolas Houard of UNO pulled away, 4-1, to start the second set. Hazley came back from the deficit to clinch the match, winning 6-3, 6-2.
Danny Bryan picked up a win at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-2. Bryan and Hazley are both still undefeated in singles in dual matches.
Sebastian Rutka lost the first set of his match at No. 5 singles against Saif Ali. Rutka forced Ali to a tiebreaker in the second set, but it would not be enough. Ali won, 6-3, 7-6 (6), to give UNO their only win of the match.
Ken Skupski also lost his first set at No. 1 singles to Luka Bernard. Skupski, LSU’s 87th-ranked freshman from Liverpool, England, made a comeback in the second set. He won the tiebreaker, 10-8, and won the match, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8).
“Bernard was one of the most talented players I’ve seen this year. He played with a lot of energy. Ken did a good job to turn it around in the second set,” said Brown.
Next weekend the Tigers begin SEC play when they host 24th-ranked Georgia on Friday and 37th-ranked Tennessee on Sunday.
“Today’s match helped us get ready to focus on the SEC matches,” said Brown. “We’re excited to play Georgia.”
#10 LSU 6, New Orleans 1
Singles competition:
1. #87 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Luke Bernard (UNO) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Pierre Ros-Barbier (UNO) 6-3, 6-2
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Nicolas Houard (UNO) 6-2, 6-4
4. Cory Ross (LSU) def. Erwan Rebuffe (UNO) 6-1, 6-2
5. Saif Ali (UNO) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Julien De La Mettrie (UNO) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition:
1. #13 Jason Hazley/Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Gabriel Delarue/Luke Bernard (UNO) 8-5
2. Peter Richman/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Pierre Ros-Barbier/Erwan Rebuffe (UNO) 8-4
3. #21 Cory Ross/Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Julien De La Mettrie/Saif Ali (UNO) 8-5
Match Notes:
New Orleans 3-3
LSU 7-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3) Singles (4,2,3,5,6,1)
Clinchers: Doubles (1) Match (3)