NEW ORLEANS — Having the home state advantage proved lucky for LSU Friday at the SEC Coaches Indoor Championships here at the Hilton Riverside Racquet and Health Club. Six Tigers advanced to the singles round of 32 and two doubles teams are still alive in the round of 16.
“I thought we competed well in our first events,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We won the matches we were capable of winning.”
Ken Skupski, Jason Hazley, Peter Richman, Colt Gaston, Mark Grocott and Danny Bryan all earned singles wins.
Paul White lost his match to No. 3 ranked Jesse Witten of Kentucky, the tournament’s top seed. Kevin Dessauer lost his three set match with Robert Lathouwers of Auburn but still impressed Brown.
“Paul White ran into one of the best players in the country,” he said. “And Kevin Dessauer competed very well.”
In doubles, top seeded Skupski and Growcott sat out with a bye and will compete tomorrow. White and Dessauer also advanced when their opponents withdrew from the competition.
Hazley and Bryan, seeded fifth, were upset in their first round match by Georgia’s Ricardo Gonzales and Matic Omerzel, 8-2. Richman and Gaston picked up their first loss as a doubles team against a pair from Ole Miss.
“The guys who won have an opportunity to compete against the next level,” Brown said. “Those matches will benefit them going into the season.”
Several upsets and three-set matches made it a long day of competition in the tournament, hosted by LSU.
“The level looks of play looks high this year,” said Brown after his first glimpse at conference opponents. “Several teams added guys in January in addition to the strong players they already had. It will be an particularly strong year in our extremely strong conference.”
Play continues tomorrow and through the holiday weekend.
2005 SEC COACHES INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, Jan. 14
Singles
Round of 64
# 3 (1) Jesse Witten (UK) def. Paul White (LSU), 6-2, 6-2
#12 (3) Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Ivan Bjelica (MSU), 7-6 (4), 6-3
#84 (9-16) Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Taylor Striplin (ALA), 6-1, 6-0
Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Ben Atkinson (USC), 6-4, 7-5
Robert Lathouwers (AUB) def. Kevin Dessauer (LSU), 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4
Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Matt Lockin (VU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Florent Girod (MSU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
Doubles
#13 (1) Growcott/Skupski, BYE
Gonzales/Omerzel (UGA) def. #34 (5)Hazley/Bryan (LSU), 8-2
White/Dessauer (LSU) def. (6) Mirzadeh/Brandi (UF), wd
Aarum/Tveit (UM) def. Gaston/Richman (LSU), 9-7
Saturday Jan. 15
Singles
Round of 32
(3) Ken Skupski (LSU) vs. Bram ten Berge (UM), 8 a.m.
Peter Richman (LSU) vs. Strahinja Bobusic (UGA), 10:30 a.m.
(8) Vlad Obradovic (UF) vs. Danny Bryan (LSU), 9 a.m.
Mark Growcott (LSU) vs. (9-16) Antonio Ruiz (UGA), 11:30 a.m.
Colt Gaston (LSU) vs. Mark Dietrich (UT) 11a.m.
Paul White – Consolation match
Kevin Dessauer – Consolation match
Doubles
Round of 16
(1) Skupski/Growcott (LSU) vs. Schweizer/Lathouwers (AUB), 2 p.m.
White/Dessauer (LSU) vs. Witten/Sundh (UK), 3:30 p.m.