TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The fifth-seeded LSU men’s tennis team was stunned in the first round of the SEC Tournament by 12th-seeded Mississippi State 4-2 Thursday at the Varsity Tennis Courts in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“Danger turned into reality today,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We knew their capabilities, especially with them being healthy.”
LSU (15-9, 7-4 SEC) blew past the Bulldogs in doubles play. The second team All-SEC pair of Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston struck first, finishing off the Bulldogs’ Phillipe Frayssinoux and Pierre Mouillon 8-2.
The Tigers’ No. 3 duo of James Cluskey and senior Paul White clinched the doubles point 8-3 over Florent Girod and Ryan Farlow.
Ninth-ranked Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski had their match stopped while leading Ivan Bjelica and Juan-Carlos Pinto 7-2.
In singles play Mississippi State stormed back to pull off the upset. The Bulldogs started quickly, winning the first set on five of the six courts.
LSU looked to be rebounding most of the second sets. Growcott was able to defeat Mouillon in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to put the Tigers up 2-0.
From then on it was all Bulldogs. Mississippi State reeled off four straight wins and took the match.
Bryan was the first to fall, suffering a 7-5, 6-0 loss at the hands of Frayssinoux. Cluskey followed on court five, losing to Girod in straight sets 7-6, 6-3.
Sophomore Martel Campbell dropped a hard fought match with the Bulldog’s Eric Lim but lost 7-6, 7-6 in back-to-back tiebreakers.
At the No. 2 spot Gaston battled back after losing his first set to Pinto 6-3 and took the second 7-5. The Tiger sophomore had chances to pull away in the third frame, but errors cost him the set 7-5.
No. 20-ranked Skupski had his match called, with the junior holding a 5-4 lead on Bjelica in the third set.
The win snapped a six match losing streak for the Bulldogs, who notched a 1-10 mark in SEC play during the regular season.
The Tigers have now lost three straight matches. LSU’s regular season has ended and, the team must wait to see where they will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament.
“We have three weeks to regroup and find out where we go for the NCAA,” said Brown. “We’ll be ready.”
Singles
1. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU) led #80 Ivan Bjelica (LSU) 3-6, 7-6, 5-4
2. Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Pierre Mouillon (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) def. #110 Colt Gaston (LSU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
4. Phillipe Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Danny Bryan (LSU) 7-5, 6-0
5. Florent Girod (MSU) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 7-6, 6-3
6. Eric Lim (MSU) def. Martel Campbell (LSU) 7-6, 7-6
Doubles
1. Skupski/ Growcott (LSU) led Ivan Bjelica/Juan-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 7-2
2. Bryan/Gaston def. Phillipe Frayssinoux/Pierre Mouillon (MSU) 8-2
3. White/Cluskey def. Florent Girod/Ryan Farlow (MSU) 8-3