BATON ROUGE — LSU players won nearly every finished match they played Friday in a 6-1 win over SEC Western Division opponent Auburn.
The Tigers won the doubles point for the seventh match in a row and continued to roll in singles play.
“The doubles point set the tone again today,” Brown said. “We knew going in they had a strong doubles lineup and that in singles they had enough points still to beat us.”
With their second win in a row, the Tigers moved to 14-7 and 3-6 in the SEC. Auburn fell to 11-6 and 2-7.
Seniors Jason Hazley and Peter Richman set the Tigers off to a fast start in doubles. They finished off Brent Goedjen and Bernardo Bachino in thirty minutes, winning 8-0 on court three.
LSU’s seventh-ranked tandem of Ken Skupski and Mark Growcott clinched the point with a 8-6 win on court one over 13th-ranked Gabor Zoltan Pelva.
The match on court two was suspended.
“It was important to get off to a good start in singles and we did that by winning the first set on all six courts,” Brown said. “That was enough to carry us through.”
LSU’s Colt Gaston earned his second consecutive win on court six when he beat Brent Goedjen, 6-1, 6-1.
Richman again made quick work of his opponent, beating Brett Hunter, 6-1, 6-3 on court four. Richman’s second win in a row extended LSU’s lead to 3-0 and set up the clinch for Danny Bryan. Bryan beat Bernardo Bachino, 6-2, 6-3 on court five.
Skupski split sets with Schweizer on court two but won in the tiebreaker.
Growcott had LSU’s only loss, a three-set decision to No. 47-ranked Pelva.
“They had some people missing from their lineup,” Brown said. “We know they are still a very capable team if we face them again in a couple of weeks at the SEC Tournament.”
LSU plays its second match of the weekend Sunday at 1 p.m. against Alabama.
#16 LSU 6, #29 Auburn 1
Singles competition:
1. #47 Gabor Zoltan Pelva (AUB) def. #61 Mark Growcott (LSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2. #20 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. Alex Schweizer (AUB) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-8)
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Nick Lane (AUB) 7-5, 6-3
4. Peter Richman (LSU) def. Brett Hunter (AUB) 6-1, 6-3
5. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Bernardo Bachino (AUB) 6-2, 6-3
6. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Brent Goedjen (AUB) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. #7 Mark Growcott/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #13 Gabor Zoltan Pelva/Alex Schweizer (AUB) 8-6
2. #39 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) vs. Nick Lane/Brett Hunter (AUB) 6-7, unfinished
3. Peter Richman/Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Bernardo Bachino/Brent Goedjen (AUB) 8-0
Match Notes:
Auburn 11-6, 2-6 SEC; National ranking #29
LSU 14-7, 2-6; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,5,2,3,1)
Clinchers: Doubles (1), Singles (5)