TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The LSU men’s tennis team got off to a dominant start at the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships, winning an impressive 12 out of 16 matches in the singles and doubles main draws on Friday at the University of Alabama Tennis Center.
James Turbervill, Olivier Borsos and Tom Knights kicked off the day by taking down their first-round opponents in straight sets to advance to the round of 64. Teammates Sebastian Carlsson, Mark Bowtell, Neal Skupski, Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski all received first-round byes.
Skupski, the No. 2 seed in the singles bracket, dropped the first set to Southern Mississippi’s Jan Burmeister in the second round. The Liverpool, England, native then stormed back, taking the final two sets 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the round of 32.
Fifth-seeded Carlsson punched his ticket to the third round, cruising past UAB’s James Gardner 6-0, 6-2. Bowtell, seeded ninth in singles, also easily advanced to the next round, knocking off Auburn’s Taylor Davis 6-1, 6-1.
Anderson defeated John Holliman of UAB 6-4, 6-2, and Knights took down Alabama’s Ricky Doverspike 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the round of 32. Borsos rounded out the Tigers in the third round, notching a straight-set victory over Troy’s Branko Weber 6-2, 6-2.
“We played a lot of matches today and we won nearly all of them,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “I thought the victories gave the guys confidence as the day went on, and we are looking forward to getting some more work in tomorrow.”
The Tigers also had a successful day in doubles, with two LSU duos advancing the round of 16. The tandem of Carlsson and Skupski made quick work of Tulane’s Ethom Frenkel and Coby Kramer-Golinkoff 8-2, while the duo of Bowtell and Anderson took down Idan Mark and Rodrigo Rappacciol of Tulane 8-4.
Tournament action will continue tomorrow beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT with singles play, and doubles will follow later in the day.
USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships
October 22-25
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
University of Alabama Tennis Center
Singles Main Draw
Round of 128
James Turbervill (LSU) def. Coby Kramer-Golinkoff (Tulane), 7-6, 6-2
Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. Christian Kuehne (South Alabama), 6-2, 6-1
Tom Knights (LSU) def. Dauw Kruger 6-4, 6-2
Round of 64
Roger Anderson def. John Holliman (UAB), 6-4, 6-3
Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Taylor Davis (Auburn), 6-1, 6-1
Tom Knights (LSU) def. Ricky Doverspike (Alabama), 6-2, 6-1
Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. James Gardner (UAB), 6-0, 6-2
Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. Branko Weber (Troy), 6-2, 6-2
Neal Skuspki def. Jan Burmeister (Southern Miss), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Artem Ilyushin (Mississippi State) def. James Turbervill (LSU), 6-0, 7-6(5)
Chris Hellier (UAB) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU), 7-5, 6-1
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 64
Olivier Borsos/James Turbervill (LSU) def. Frankie Hoar/Elliot Minvielle (ULL), 8-2
Round of 32
Sebastian Carlsson/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Ethom Frenkel/Coby Kramer-Golinkoff (Tulane), 8-2
Mark Bowtell/Roger Anderson (LSU) def. Idan Mark/Rodrigo Rappaccioli (Tulane), 8-4
Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (Mississippi State) def. Tom Knights/Stefan Szacinski (LSU), 8-3
Danny Manlow/Daniel Moser (UAB) def. Olivier Borsos/James Turbervill (LSU), 8-6