BATON ROUGE — The 31st-ranked LSU men’s tennis team rolled to a 4-0 sweep of 47th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday in W.T. Robinson Stadium as part of Super Tiger Weekend.
LSU had an explosive doubles point as sixth- ranked Michael Venus and Neal Skupski cruised to an 8-4 victory over Arkansas’ Blake Strode and Chris Nott to push their record to 11-8.
Sophomore duo Sebastian Carlsson and Julien Gauthier clinched the early lead for LSU by notching their sixth victory of the season on court three over Taylor King and Matt Walters.
As singles got underway, the Tigers took the first game on five of six courts. The solid start put LSU in a position to take the first set in each of the five matches, and was a precursor to three straight-set victories.
Gauthier was the first off the courts for LSU, defeating Nikolas Zogaj, 6-1, 6-3, on court five. Freshman Mark Bowtell finished a close second by taking down Arkansas’ Tyler Tarnasky on court six, 6-3, 6-1.
LSU needed only one more win to clinch the match, and Skupski stepped up on court four to provide the Tigers’ with the push needed to claim victory.
Edging out Dmitry Lebedev in the first set by a close 7-5 mark, Skupski turned up the momentum in the second set to take his court, as well as the match for the Tigers, with a final 6-3 second-set mark.
The 4-0 victory pushes LSU’s lead in the all-time series record to 21-4, and was the last win at W.T. Robinson Stadium for LSU’s three seniors: Jonathan Tragardh, James Cluskey and Venus.
The 2009 class has seen four NCAA tournament appearances, two in the round of 16, and finished among the top-25 teams in the nation each year during their tenure at LSU.
“This was one of our most complete matches we have played from doubles throughout the lineup,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “I’m proud of our group of seniors, they fought hard for them and they fought hard as well. We are beginning to play our best and have gained great momentum toward the end of the season.”
LSU (9-10, 4-7 SEC) next looks to the Southeastern Conference Tournament, traveling to Auburn, Ala. for the competition slated to begin April 23.
#31 LSU 4, #47 Arkansas 0
Apr 18, 2009
W. T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Singles competition
1. Michael Venus (LSU) vs. Blake Strode (UARK) 2-6, 5-3, unfinished
2. James Cluskey (LSU) vs. Chris Nott (UARK) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
3. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) vs. Matt Hogan (UARK) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
4. Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Dmitry Lebedev (UARK) 7-5, 6-3
5. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Nikolas Zogaj (UARK) 6-1, 6-3
6. Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Tyler Tarnasky (UARK) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #6 Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Blake Strode/Chris Nott (UARK) 8-4
2. Jonathan Tragardh/James Cluskey (LSU) vs. Dmitry Lebedev/Matt Hogan (UARK) 4-5, unfinishe
3. Julien Gauthier/Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Taylor King/Matt Walters (UARK) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,6,4)