ATHENS, Ga. — LSU advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship Tournament for the fourth consecutive year Thursday with a 4-1 win over Auburn.
“We tip-toed by them,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “Now we get the opportunity to hunt a head, which is a lot more fun.”
The Tigers (19-7, 5-6 SEC) move on to face SEC co-champion Ole Miss tomorrow at 8 a.m. CST.
With the win, LSU surpassed its win total from any of the past four seasons and likely secured its spot in the top-16 for a chance to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships.
“We good a job today of defending where we were,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “There was a lot of pressure on us to hold our position in the top-16 and I think guys felt that a bit.”
LSU beat the other Tigers two weeks ago, 6-1, but that was without two of Auburn’s starters.
Brown said he expected a much more competitive match this time, and he got one after his team claimed the doubles point.
On court one, LSU’s seventh-ranked All-SEC pair of Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski dismantled 16th-ranked Gabor Zoltan Pelva and Alex Schweizer, 8-4.
Jason Hazley and Peter Richman clinched LSU’s 11th doubles point in a row on court three with an 8-4 win over Nick Lane and Brett Hunter. It was the sixth win in a row for Hazley and Richman.
Auburn’s Tom George and Robbert Lathouwers were serving for the match against Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston when their match was suspended.
Auburn evened the match score when Schweizer beat Skupski, 6-4, 6-2 on court two.
Bryan gave LSU the edge back on court five, beating Tom, 6-4, 6-1.
Hazley then earned a huge win on court three with all the remaining matches in tiebreaker sets. He beat Lathouwers, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Gaston clinched for the second time in three matches with a three-set win over Hunter. He fell behind 3-0 in the third set before coming back to win 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.
Mark Growcott and Peter Richman’s matches on courts one and four were suspended when LSU won. Growcott was tied with 47th-ranked Pelva in his third set.
The win extended LSU’s winning streak to six consecutive matches.
The Tigers barely lost to third-ranked Ole Miss in the teams’ regular season meeting, falling 4-3 in Oxford. That was April 1, and LSU has not lost a match since.
“We’re looking at it as if we have nothing to lose,” Brown said. “I think if we win we could be a top-10 seed nationally. The opportunity is there for us. We’re looking forward to it and we need to take advantage of it.”
#12 LSU 4, #33 Auburn 1
Singles competition:
1. #47 Gabor Zoltan Pelva (AUB) vs. #81 Mark Growcott (LSU), 6-2, 2-6, unfinished
2. Alex Schweizer (AUB) def. #30 Ken Skupski (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Jason Hazley (LSU) def. Robbert Lathouwers (AUB) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Nick Lane (AUB) vs. Peter Richman (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 3-1, unfinished
5. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Tom George (AUB) 6-4, 6-1
6. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Brett Hunter (AUB) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles competition:
1. #7 Mark Growcott/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #16 Gabor Zoltan Pelva/Alex Schweizer (AUB) 8-4
2. Tom George/Robbert Lathouwers (AUB) def. #53 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) 7-5, unfinished
3. Jason Hazley/Peter Richman (LSU) def. Brett Hunter/Nick Lane (AUB) 8-4
Match Notes:
Auburn 12-9, 3-8; National ranking #33
Louisiana State 19-7, 5-6; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,5,3,6)
First Round SEC Tournament
LSU – No. 8 Seed; Auburn – No. 9 Seed