COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 11 LSU men’s tennis team ran into wall Sunday against a very talented and perhaps underrated Ohio State team, losing to the Buckeyes 6-1 at the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center.
The loss moves LSU to 5-1 and 15th-ranked Ohio State to 7-0. The win also extends the Buckeyes home winning streak to 34 consecutive matches, dating back to 2003.
One of the bright spots for the Tigers was the play of 66th-ranked junior Ken Skupski, who extended his personal winning streak to 15 matches with a three set win over Ohio State’s No. 1 singles player Devin Mullings.
On the No. 4 singles court Paul White took No. 38-ranked Chris Klingeman to three sets before eventually falling 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
The Tigers failed to earn the doubles point for the first time this season. LSU’s 10th-ranked doubles duo of Skupski and Mark Growcott lost for the first time this season, in an 8-5 decision to No. 2 ranked Scott Green and Ross Wilson
LSU head coach Jeff Brown looks for the team to rebound and use Sunday’s defeat as a growing point.
“They’re a little further along than we are right now,” said Brown. “I think we learned a lot form what went through today.”
The Tigers will play in the prestigious ITA National Team Indoor Tournament in Seattle on Feb 17-20. LSU has received the 10th seed and will face UCLA on Friday at 12:30 CST.
“We won’t have to play in an environment tougher than the one we faced today again this season,” Brown said. “We have a lot of big matches left and we have to take this and use it to get better.”
#11 LSU vs. #15 Ohio State
Jesse Owens West Tennis Center
Columbus, Ohio
OSU 6, LSU 1
Singles
1. #66 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #50 Devin Mullings (OSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
2. Bryan Koniecko (OSU) def. Mark Growcott (LSU) 6-4, 7-6(6)
3. Steven Moneke (OSU) def. Colt Gaston (LSU) 7-5, 6-1
4. #38 Chris Klingemann (OSU) def. Paul White (LSU) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
5. Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Danny Bryan (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Dennis Mertens (OSU) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. #2 Green/Wilson (OSU) def. Skuspki/Growcott (LSU) 8-5
2. Mullings/Klingemann (OSU) def. Bryan/ Gaston (LSU) 8-3
3. Eberly/ Koniecko (OSU) def. White/Cluskey (LSU) 8-5