STARKVILLE, Miss. –A stunning three-set performance by junior Sebastian Carlsson on court two lifted the LSU men’s tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Mississippi State Friday on the Bulldogs’ home courts at the Pitts Tennis Centre.
Carlsson cruised to 6-3 victory in the first set against Artem Ilyushin. The Uppsala, Sweden, native marginally missed the early victory after Ilyushin bounced back with a 7-6 (7) score in the second set, but Carlsson rolled to produce a 6-3 third-set score and took the match to clinch the win.
After Mississippi State took the early point and the first two doubles courts, LSU began a rally.
Paving the way for Carlsson with victories for the Tigers were Mark Bowtell, Neal Skupski and Julien Gauthier.
Bowtell was the first off the courts with a win for LSU following a matchup against Daniel Sanchez with a straight-set victory 6-4, 6-2 on court five.
Skupski listed the second win for the Tigers at the top court against No. 100 Louis Cant, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Gauthier persevered after he dropped the first set on court four to Antonio Lastre to bounce back to a 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 mark.
“This match was one of our better comebacks in recent memory,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We were down, 3-0, and it was good for our team to be able to have that experience and get the win after long odds.”
LSU (4-6, 2-1 SEC) next travels to take on Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. In a match slated for 1 p.m. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The 13th-ranked Rebels own a 9-2 record and are 1-1 in conference competition.
#62 LSU 4, #49 Mississippi State 3
March 12, 2010
Starkville, Miss.
Pitts Tennis Centre
Singles
1. #44 Neal Skupski (LSU) def. #100 Louis Cant (MSU), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
2. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Artem Ilyushin (MSU), 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3
3. #101 George Coupland (MSU) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU), 1-6, 7-5, 6-0
5. Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Daniel Sanchez (MSU), 6-4, 6-2
6. Chris Doerr (MSU) def. Olivier Borsos (LSU), 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Coupland/Ilyushin (MSU) def. Skupski/Anderson (LSU), 8-6
2. Lastre/Sanchez (MSU) def. Carlsson/Gauthier (LSU), 8-5
3. Cant/Doerr (MSU) def. Borsos/Szacinski (LSU), 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (3, 6, 5, 1, 4, 2)