BATON ROUGE — LSU knocked off 13th-ranked Texas A&M, 5-2, Wednesday thanks to strong singles play led by 58th-ranked freshman Ken Skuspki.
The Tigers lost the doubles point for the first time this season, but Skupski spurred his team by upsetting the Aggies’ 10th-ranked Ante Matjevic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
Jason Hazley, Bryan Fisher, Cory Ross and Sebastian Rutka added singles wins to give the Tigers their first victory over the Aggies since 2000.
“This was a big win,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “They had won five in a row over us. I feel like they are at least at top-10 team and it takes a great effort to beat a team like that.
The match did not start out so well for the Tigers. Their 20th-ranked doubles team of Fisher and Hazley lost just their second match of the dual season to Texas A&M’s first-ranked Matjevic and Lester Cook, 8-1. Skupski and junior Peter Richman came through with an 8-6 win at No. 2 singles.
LSU seemed certain to clinch the doubles point, but Texas A&M’s Mohammed Dakki and Matt Loucks rallied from a 7-2 deficit to the Tigers’ Ross and Danny Bryan to beat them, 9-7.
“We had some adversity to overcome in the match,” Brown said. “We had the doubles point in our hand and we lost it.”
Skupski’s win earned the Tigers the lead in the match, but not for long. Richman lost his match at No. 3 singles to the Aggies’ 21st-ranked Cook to even the score at 2-2 with three matches on the way to third sets.
Rutka won his match at No. 6 singles, leaving it up to Ross or Fisher to clinch the win for the Tigers. Ross earned LSU’s fourth win on court No. 5 to clinch the match, and Fisher added a win on court No. 6 for good measure.
The Tigers carry the momentum of the Texas A&M win and Sunday’s 4-3 victory over Tennessee into a nine-day layover. They take a break from their Southeastern Conference schedule, which resumes March 19 in Kentucky.
“If we had lost this match it would have been a long break,” Brown said. “It’s going to be our last chance to work on some things we need to improve. We won’t be able to do that until the break between the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
#17 LSU 5, #13 Texas A&M 2
Singles competition:
1. #58 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #10 Ante Matjevic (TAMU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
2. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Mohammed Dakki (TAMU) 6-3, 6-4
3. #21 Lester Cook (TAMU) def. Peter Richman (LSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Bryan Fisher (LSU) def. Brett Joelson (TAMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Cory Ross (LSU) def. Matt Loucks (TAMU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2
6. Sebastian Rutka (LSU) def. Khaled El Dorry (TAMU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles competition:
1. #1 Ante Matjevic/Lester Cook (TAMU) def. #20 Bryan Fisher/Jason Hazley (LSU) 8-1
2. Ken Skupski/Peter Richman (LSU) def. Brett Joelson/Marvin Rolle (TAMU) 8-6
3. Mohammed Dakki/Matt Loucks (TAMU) def. Cory Ross/Danny Bryan (LSU) 9-7
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 11-5; National ranking #13
LSU 9-1; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles (3,1,2,6,5,4)
Clinchers: Doubles (3) Match (5)