LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 45 LSU men’s tennis team captured the doubles point, but 31st-ranked Auburn proved to be too much in singles as they handed the team its second loss of the weekend, 4-1, at the ITA Kick-off Weekend.
The Tigers (0-2) started the day off on the right foot with two doubles victories. Auburn (1-1) was first off the courts with a win on court two, but the Tiger tandem of Tom Knights and Stefan Szacinski evened the score up with a tight 9-7 win on court three over Andreas Mies and Rafael Rodino of Auburn.
It was then up to the 27th-ranked pair of Neal Skupski and Sebastian Carlsson on court one. The duo fell behind early, but settled in for an 8-6 victory over Auburn’s Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev to clinch the doubles point for LSU.
LSU carried the momentum into singles play as they recorded five first-set wins, but Auburn quickly fought back in the second sets and claimed four singles victories to put the match away.
“We had all the momentum at the beginning of the match, but Auburn did a great job in singles to switch it around,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “You learn something from every match, especially tough losses like these. These matches help you get better so the guys will learn from this.”
The Tigers look to claim their first dual victory when they open the home season this Thursday, Feb. 3, at “Dub” Robinson Stadium with a doubleheader against UL-Lafayette and the University of New Orleans. LSU will square-off against the Ragin’ Cajuns at 3 p.m. CST and the Privateers match is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Admission to all home matches is free.
ITA Kick-off Weekend
Jan. 29-30, 2011
Lubbock, Texas
McLeod Tennis Center
No. 31 Auburn 4, No. 45 LSU 1
Singles
1. Neal Skupski (LSU) vs. Tim Puetz (AU), 7-6, 3-6, 2-2, unfinished
2. Alex Stamchev (AU) def. Olivier Borsos (LSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. # 120 Mark Bowtell (LSU) vs. #65 Tim Hewitt (AU), 7-6, 1-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Rafael Rodino (AU) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Daniel Cochrane (AU) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Andreas Mies (AU) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. #27 Neal Skupski/Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Tim Puetz/Alex Stamchev (AU), 8-6
2. Daniel Cochrane/Lucas Lopasso (AU) def. Olivier Borsos/Roger Anderson (LSU), 8-5
3. Tom Knights/Stefan Szacinski (LSU) def. Andreas Mies/Rafael Rodino (AU), 9-7