NEW ORLEANS — A straight-set win Sunday over Georgia’s John Isner sent Ken Skupski to the finals of the SEC Coaches’ Indoor Championships, giving him a chance to become the first LSU player in recent tournament history to become the singles champion in the event.
“In his second match, Ken played solid and had one game where he really raised his level to get the break,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “He served well and hit good shots at the right time.”
No. 12-ranked Skupski, the tournament’s third singles seed, reached the semifinals after retiring Mississippi State’s Luiz Carvalho in the second set of his first match of the day.
Isner upset the top seed, No. 3 -ranked Jesse Witten of Kentucky, in a three-set quarterfinal match to reach the next round.
The first-seeded doubles team of Skupski and Mark Growcott also survived a scare from Florida’s Greg Oullette and Stefan Tell to reach Monday’s semifinal.
Tell and Oullette had a 5-2 lead before Skupski and Growcott broke back to reverse the momentum. They won, 9-8 (4).
“They won ugly,” Brown said. “Tell and Oullette started well and we started sluggish. We learned a lesson today. But we were still able to win, which tells you something.
Skupski will meet Oullette again tomorrow in the tournament finals, which begin at 9 a.m.
“There are so very few opportunities to play for this title,” Brown said. “Oullette’s playing well right now so it should be a good match.”
Seventh-seeded Oullette is ranked No. 47.
Skupski and Growcott face No. 4 seed Isner and Antonio Ruiz in the semifinals tomorrow.
2005 SEC COACHES INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
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Day 4 – Jan. 16
Singles
Quarterfinal Results
#18 (5) John Isner (UGA) def. #3 (1) Jesse Witten (UK), 7-6 (10), 1-6, 6-3
#12 (3) Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Luiz Carvalho (MSU), 6-2, 2-1 ret.
#47 (7) Greg Oullette (UF) def. Mark Dietrich (UK), 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Alex Hume (MSU) def. Phillipe Frayssinoux (UK), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Semifinal Results
#12 (3) Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #18 (5) John Isner (UGA), 6-4, 6-4
#47 (7) Greg Oullette (UF) def. Alex Hume (UK), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5)
Consolation Result
Nolan Polley (UK) def. Ben Rogers (UT), 7-6 (4), 6-2
Doubles
Quarterfinal Results
Dolberg/Sherry (UF) def. #10 (3) Carvalho/Pinto (MSU), wd
#10 (4) Isner/Ruiz (UGA) def. Aarum/Tveit (UM), wd
Witten/Sundh (UK) def. Bjelica/Girod (MSU), 8-5
(1) Skupski/Growcott (LSU) def. Oullette/Tell (UF), 9-8 (4)
Semifinal Result
Witten/Sundh (UK) def. Dolberg/Sherry (UF), 8-4
Monday’s matches
Singles
Final
Ken Skupski (LSU) vs. Greg Oullette (UF), 9 a.m.
Doubles
Semifinal
(4) Isner/Ruiz (UGA) vs. (1) Skupski/Growcott (LSU)
Final
Winner Match 1 vs. Witten/Sundh (UK)
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