AUBURN, Ala. — The LSU men’s tennis team notched four wins in the first day of the Auburn Spring Classic on Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
The doubles team of senior James Cluskey and sophomore Julien Gauthier highlighted tournament play on day one as the LSU duo defeated Arkansas’ Blake Strode and Matt Hogan, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s No. 14 doubles team, by a 8-6 mark in flight one.
LSU’s Mark Bowtell, Ryan Lissner and David Roberts each tallied a win in singles to give the Tigers their final three wins of Friday’s competition.
“James and Julien gave us a good doubles win, as did each of the guys who won in singles,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We are looking forward to more competition tomorrow.”
Each of LSU’s singles victories came in straight sets against Arkansas. Bowtell defeated Tyler Tarnasky by a 6-3, 6-4 mark, Lissner marked a 6-3, 7-5 win over Bradwin Williams and Roberts pushed past Nikolas Zogaj, 7-5, 6-4.
LSU faces Virginia Tech on day two with matches slated to begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m. CST.
Auburn Spring Classic
Jan. 23-25
Auburn, Ala.
All Times Central
Jan. 23
Doubles
Flight 1
James Cluskey/Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. #14 Blake Strode/Matt Hogan (Arkansas), 8-6
Flight 2
Tyler King/Chris Nott (Arkansas) def. Neal Skupski/Mark Bowtell (LSU), 9-7
Flight 3
Tyler Tarnasky/Bradwin Williams (Arkansas) def. Sebastian Carlsson/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU), 9-7
Flight 4
Nikolas Zogaj/Dmitry Lebedev (Arkansas) def. Ryan Lissner/David Roberts (LSU), 8-0
Singles
Flight 1
#15 Blake Strode (Arkansas) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Flight 2
#39 Matt Hogan (Arkansas) def. James Cluskey (LSU), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Flight 3
Chris Nott (Arkansas) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU), 6-3, 6-4
Flight 4
Dmitry Lebedev (Arkansas) def. Neal Skupski (LSU), 7-6 (7), 6-1
Flight 5
Taylor King (Arkansas) def. Jonathan Tragardh (LSU), 6-4, 6-2
Flight 6
Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Tyler Tarnasky (Arkansas), 6-3, 6-4
Flight 7
Ryan Lissner (LSU) def. Bradwin Williams (Arkansas), 6-3, 7-5
Flight 8
David Roberts (LSU) def. Nikolas Zogaj (Arkansas), 7-5, 6-4
Jan. 24
LSU vs. Virginia Tech, 9:30 a.m.