IRVINE, Calif. — The LSU men’s tennis team had a dominant performance at the Racquet Club of Irvine Meyer Pharmaceutical Pro Futures as all five Tigers won their singles match Friday.
“In the first round of a pro futures event you could play anyone from Rafael Nadal to Ralph Nader and anybody in between,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “Our guys came ready to play today and found a way to win.”
Junior Martel Campbell fell in his first set against Yevgeny Perepelov, 4-6, but bounced back to take the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Newcomer Jan Zelezny breezed past Jack Lynch, 6-1, 6-0, to pick up the second win for the Tigers.
Sophomore James Cluskey took his first set against Andrew Eklov to a tiebreaker but could not pull away, losing 6-7 (5). The Ireland native rallied from his first set disappointment to beat Eklov, 6-3, 6-3.
Senior Danny Bryan continued the Tigers’ strong performance by handily defeating Peter Larrieu, 6-0, 6-2.
Junior Colt Gaston split his first two sets with Andrew Piotrowski, 6-3, 4-6. However, the Georgia native would not be denied as he put the finishing touches on LSU’s sweep winning his third set, 6-0.
As impressive as today’s showing was, Brown made it clear the competition only gets tougher as they advance in the tournament.
“Some of our guys had some really tough matches today that should prepare them for the next round,” he said. “Our guys need to remain focused as they fill face stiffer competition tomorrow.”
Racquet Club of Irvine Meyer Pharmaceutical Pro Futures
Qualifying Round of 128 Results
Friday, Sept. 22
Martel Campbell (LSU) def. Yevgeny Perepelov, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Jan Zelezny (LSU) def. Jack Lynch, 6-1, 6-0
James Cluskey (LSU) def. Andrew Eklov 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3
Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Peter Larrieu, 6-0, 6-2
Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Andrew Piotrowski. 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Qualifying Round of 64 Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 23
Martel Campbell (LSU) vs. (11) Darren Cohen (USA), 1:30 p.m.
Jan Zelezny (LSU) vs. Tyler Hochwalt (USA), 2:30 p.m.
James Cluskey (LSU) vs. Wesley Miller (USA), 2:30 p.m.
Danny Bryan (LSU) vs. Colt Gaston (LSU), 3:30 p.m.