CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — LSU’s Ken Skupski concluded a stellar weekend of play at the ITA All American Championships Saturday, advancing through the quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 Sam Warberg of Stanford, 7-6, 6-1 in semifinal action.
The sophomore from Liverpool, England began the day with a win over Old Dominion’s Izak van der Merwe in the quarterfinals. The hard fought battle saw Skupski defeat the nation’s No. 9 player 6-4, 7-6.
In the semifinals, Skupski could not take advantage of two first set leads, eventually giving way to Warberg in two sets.
“You have to give credit to Sam for fighting when he was behind,” said LSU assistant coach Mark Booras. “He was able to come back from two deficits in the first half.”
“Ken had several opportunities to win the first set and couldn’t take advantage of them,” added Booras. “In the second set he lost steam and was physically drained.”
Despite the loss, Skupski’s excellent play throughout the weekend solidified his presence on the national scene.
“This tournament has given Ken a lot of confidence for the rest of the fall and heading into the spring,” said Booras. “He’s established himself as one of the top-10 players in the country and it just goes to show what kind of depth LSU is going to have this year.”
The LSU men’s tennis team will return to action Thursday when it travels to Memphis, Tenn., for the ITA Region III Championships.