No. 4 LSU Doubles Team Advances to NCAA Quarters
ATHENS, Ga. — LSU’s top doubles team of Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament by defeating the No. 32-ranked team of Markus Dickhardt and Christian Groh from San Diego State, 6-2, 6-4, Friday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The day did not fair as well for the other Tigers competing as senior Ken Skupski was eliminated in the singles round of 16 and he and partner James Cluskey were eliminated in the doubles round of 16.
Bryan and Gaston will now face the defending champions of 5-8-seeded Kyle Anderson and Ryan Rowe from Illinois on Saturday at 2:30 CST.
Bryan and Gaston started strong in their opening set by jumping out to a 4-0 lead. The Tiger tandem only relinquished two games the rest of the set to take it by a 6-2 score.
The Aztecs put up a better fight in the second set by going game-for-game with them to tie it at 4-all The Tigers ended any chance of a third set by capturing the next two games to advance to the quarterfinals.
“It’s a great achievement to reach the quarterfinals,” Bryan said. “We are excited about the win today. We played a very good team and we were clicking throughout the match. Hopefully we can continue that tomorrow.”
It took the No. 1 player in the nation to end Skupski’s outstanding singles career, as top-seeded John Isner of Georgia hit 34 aces in route to defeating Skupski, 7-6 (8), 7-5, in the round of 16.
Skupski finishes his career with 104 wins, which places him fourth on the LSU career singles wins list.
“Today was an eye opener to the level of serving a player could actually produce,” Skupski said. “John served today as well as anybody could. On the other hand, I was still able to stay focused and give myself chances. I was a point away from winning the first set and felt I played my best. This gave me a great indication of the level that I am at in my game. This match shows on any given day you can play your best tennis and still lose.
“I take a lot of confidence from this tournament as I head into my professional career. I have enjoyed playing for LSU and will always be a Tiger. I will never be able to repay Jeff (Brown) for everything he has done for me. I would like to thank him and Mark (Booras) for all they have done for me these past five years.”
In one of the most intense sets of the tournament, each SEC star held serve in the first set to push it to a tiebreaker.
Isner was on serve with a 6-5 lead when he double faulted to tie it at 6-all. Skupski won two of the next three points to go ahead 8-7. Isner rallied from there to capture three straight points and a first-set victory.
The second set transpired in similar fashion.
With the score tied 5-all, Isner made the first break of the match to go ahead 6-5. Skupski went up 30-love in the 12th game, but Inser’s powerful serve was too much for the senior Tiger as Isner held to take the set by a 7-5 score.
Skupski’s day did not improve in the evening as he and partner James Cluskey fell to third-seeded Jesse Levine and Greg Ouellette of Florida, 6-4, 6-3. The Tiger tandem finish the season with a 23-11 record.
A 6-1 senior from Liverpool England, Skupski ends his career as one of the most decorated tennis players in LSU history. The four-year letterman has played at the one spot in singles for his entire career.
In his sophomore year, he and partner Mark Growcott advanced to the finals of the NCAA doubles championships. That same season, Skupski and Growcott compiled the most doubles wins in a season at LSU with 34. He received ITA All-American singles honors two times (2006, 2007), and doubles All-American honors in 2005.
Skupski became the first Tiger to win the SEC Coaches Indoor Championship and the first player in the history of the tournament to win back-to-back titles. He has excelled off the court as well as he has been named an ITA Scholar Athlete the past two years.
“Ken faced as good of a serving performance in college that I have ever seen,” head coach Brown said. “He did well to give himself a chance by having a set point in the first set tiebreaker, considering Isner had six aces in the tiebreaker alone.
“Ken has been one of the top players in college tennis for the fours years he has played here. It has been a privilege to coach such a special person. He will be successful on the pro tour and anything else he chooses to do in the future.”
The Tigers are listed at No. 15 in the final team poll released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Friday. It marks the sixth time in Brown’s ten years as head coach that the team has finished the season in the top 15.
Final singles and doubles rankings will be released after the tournament finishes.
NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championship
May 23, 2007
Round of 64
#24 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #10 Todd Paul (Wake Forest), 6-2, 6-3
#26 Pierre Mouillon (California) def. #32 Danny Bryan (LSU), 6-3, 6-3
Round of 32
May 24, 2007
#24 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #37 Bojan Szumanski (Texas Tech) 6-4, 6-3
Round of 16
May 25, 2007
(1) #1 John Isner (Georgia) def. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU), 7-6 (8), 7-5
NCAA Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship
May 24, 2007
Round of 32
(4) #4 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. #54 Tim Bradshaw/Brady Crosby (WM), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
#22 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #56 Piotr Dilaj/Luke Shields (BOISE), 7-5, 6-3
NCAA Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship
Round of 16
May 25, 2007
(4) #4 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. #32 Markus Dickhardt/Christian Groh (San Diego State), 6-2, 6-4
(3) #3 Jesse Levine/Greg Ouellette (Florida) def. #22 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinals
May 26, 2007
(4) #4 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU; 24-3 overall) vs. (5-8) #8 Kyle Anderson/Ryan Rowe (Illinois; 22-6 overall), 2:30 CDT
NCAA Tournament seed in parenthesis before name
# – indicates ITA national ranking entering tournament