BATON ROUGE — LSU kept its record spotless Saturday with a 6-1 win over No. 60 Louisiana-Lafayette (1-4) in its first match against a ranked opponent.
“We learned quite a few things about ourselves and we did that with a win.” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “This match will help us next week when we’re playing in the National Indoors.”
The No. 11-ranked Tigers (7-0) will not play in W.T. Robinson Stadium for another month after today’s match.
LSU again won all three doubles matches to extend their unbeaten streak in that point. The Tigers are a combined 12-0 in the dual season in doubles matches, led by the No. 13-ranked pair of Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski and No. 34-ranked Jason Hazley and Danny Bryan.
Growcott and Peter Richman made quick work of their opponents on courts two and four, setting up a clincher for Colt Gaston on court six.
Gaston lost his first set against Kerri Abaker and was at a tiebreaker in the second set. He dominated the third set to get the 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 win.
Skupski, who is ranked 12th in the singles poll, followed with a win on court one over No. 96-ranked Evghenii Corduneanu. Danny Bryan also won a tight 6-4, 7-6 match on court five over Shaun Ellison.
Hazley suffered LSU’s only loss of the day to Amanjot Singh on court three.
The Tigers leave next week for the National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago, where they will play at least three matches against the top teams in the nation. They begin play in the tournament Thursday at 3 p.m. against Duke.
“Those road matches are all going to be challenges,” Brown said. “Sometimes going on the road brings a team together more. Hopefully by the time we get back we will be a better team.”
#11 LSU 6, #60 Louisiana-Lafayette 1
Singles competition:
1. #12 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #96 Evghenii Corduneanu (ULL) 7-5, 6-3
2. Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Dusan Tabak (ULL) 6-2, 6-1
3. Amanjot Singh (ULL) def. #87 Jason Hazley (LSU) 7-6, 6-3
4. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Robin Ley (ULL) 6-3, 6-1
5. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Shaun Ellison (ULL) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Kerri Abaker (ULL) 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. #13 Ken Skupski/Mark Growcott (LSU) def. #46 Evghenii Corduneanu/Dusan Tabak (ULL) 8-4
2. #34 Danny Bryan/Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Amanjot Singh/Kerri Abaker (ULL) 8-6
3. Colt Gaston/Peter Richman (LSU) def. Robin Ley/Shaun Ellison (ULL) 8-4
Match Notes:
Louisiana-Lafayette 1-4; National ranking #60
LSU 7-0; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,6,1,3,5)
Clinchers: Doubles (2), Singles (6)