TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team survived a scare Friday at the Varsity Courts in Tuscaloosa, holding off upset minded Alabama 4-3.
“We played through some really tough wind conditions and still managed to find a way to wind,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “The wind is a great equalizer. Plus, they have a great team already.”
LSU rolled the Tide in doubles, sweeping all three matches. The Tigers have now won the doubles point in their last eight matches and have swept the doubles matches in six of nine SEC contests.
No. 21-ranked Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston struck first, downing Alabama’s Billy Mertz and Javier Bes 8-4 on the No. 2 doubles court.
James Cluskey and senior Paul White continued their solid play at the No. 3 spot Friday. The pair clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Dan Buikema and Andrew Felsenthal.
The Tigers’ No. 1 team of Ken Skupski and Mark Growcott pulled out their match over the Tide’s Joseph Jung and Mathieu Thibaudeau in a tiebreaker, winning 9-8.
Alabama regrouped and pushed LSU to the limit in the singles play, with four of the six matches going to a third set.
Mertz moved quickly past Cluskey on court five, putting the Tiger freshman away in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
LSU responded with two straight wins and took a 3-1 lead. The Tigers’ No. 1 player Ken Skupski picked up his sixth consecutive singles win, besting Jung 7-5, 6-4.
On the No. 2 singles court Gaston, who lost his match Wednesday against UL-Lafayette, took out his frustrations in his first set with Bes, winning 6-1. Bes rebounded and took the second set 7-5. However, the Tigers’ reigning SEC Player of the Week showed his mettle, winning the match with a7-5 third set.
Alabama tied the score with three-set wins on courts four and five, but team LSU team captain Danny Bryan came through in the clutch once again. The Tiger junior recovered from a second set loss to win his match 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 and clinch the win for LSU.
“Colt and Ken worked through the conditions and, Danny was there to clinch the match for us,” said Brown. “We really showed our character in the way we fought today.”
The Tigers will continue their road trip Sunday when they travel to Auburn for a 1 p.m. match.
#16 LSU 4, #45 Alabama 3
Singles
1. #21 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #114 Joseph Jung (Bama) 7-5, 6-4
2. Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Javier Bes (Bama) 7-6, 1-6, 6-1
3. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Mathieu Thibaudeau (Bama) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
4. Sammy Struyf (Bama) def. Mark Growcott (LSU) 7-6, 1-6, 6-1
5. Billy Metz (Bama) def. James Cluskey (LSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Dan Buikema (Bama) def. Kevin Dessauer (LSU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. Skupski/Growcott (LSU) def. Jung/Thibaudeau (Bama) 9-8
2. Bryan/Gaston (LSU) def. Mertz/Bes (Bama) 8-4
3. White/Cluskey (LSU) def. Buikema/Felsenthal (Bama) 8-5