BATON ROUGE — The No. 12-ranked LSU men’s tennis team overcame blustery cold weather and some tough matches Thursday to beat New Orleans, 6-1.
Three Tigers battled in tight singles matches as temperatures dipped into the mid-40s.
“The weather is an equalizer,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “Inclement weather always benefits the underdog, so I’m proud of the guys for the way they handled the adversity.”
LSU swept the doubles point. The teams of Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski, Jason Hazley and Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston and Jonathan Tragardh all won their second matches in a row.
Mark Growcott and Peter Richman were the first off the court in singles with wins on courts two and five. Danny Bryan clinched the team win on court four.
The rest of the Tigers lost their first sets in singles. Skupski was able to hold off an upset for the second straight match with a tiebreaker win on court one over UNO’s Luka Bernard.
Jason Hazley also went to a tiebreaker on court three. He beat Pierre-Ros Barbier, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5).
Marton Erdei had UNO’s only win of the day over Colt Gaston on court six.
LSU continues its homestand Saturday with matches at noon against Southern Miss and 5 p.m. against Texas Southern.
#12 LSU 6, UNO 1
Singles competition:
1. #12 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Luka Bernard (UNO) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)
2. Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Saif Ali (UNO) 6-3, 6-2
3. #87 Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Pierre-Ros Barbier (UNO) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Julian De La Mettrie (UNO) 6-0, 6-1
5. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Patricio Rodriguez (UNO) 6-0, 6-3
6. Marton Erdei (UNO) def. Colt Gaston (LSU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles competition:
1. #13 Ken Skupski/Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Luka Bernard/Julian De La Mettrie (UNO) 8-4
2. #34 Jason Hazley/Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Pierre-Ros Barbier/Patricio Rodriguez (UNO) 8-2
3. Colt Gaston/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) def. Saif Ali/Marton Erdei (UNO) 8-2
Match Notes:
LSU 4-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,5,4,1,6,3)
Clinchers: Doubles (2), Singles (4)