WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 35th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team dropped the early doubles point and was unable to catch up in singles as they fell to No. 37 Wake Forest, 4-3, on Sunday at Wake Forest’s Indoor Tennis Center.
The loss was the second consecutive road defeat for the Tigers (3-4), who lost to No. 4 Ohio State 7-0 in Columbus, Ohio, last Saturday.
“We didn’t capitalize on some opportunities we had in doubles, and Wake Forest did a good job of getting two singles matches off the court early,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We hung around but it was just too much for us to overcome.”
The Demon Deacons (3-3) captured the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3 doubles. The Wake Forest pair of Danny Kreyman and Jonathan Wolff finished-off LSU’s Mark Bowtell and Stefan Szacinski 8-3 on Court 2, and the Deacon duo of David Hopkins and Zach Leslie produced an 8-5 win over Roger Anderson and Olivier Borsos on Court 3.
The Tiger tandem of Sebastian Carlsson and Neal Skupski proved why they’re the 14th-ranked doubles team in the nation, posting a 9-8 (3) victory over Wake Forest’s Iain Atkinson and Tripper Carleton at No. 1 doubles. With the win, Carlsson and Skupski have now won six consecutive doubles matches this dual season.
LSU looked to make up ground in singles, but Wake Forest quickly made the score 3-0 with straight-set wins at No. 3 and 4 singles. Junior Tom Knights picked up the first point for the Tigers with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Wake Forest’s Conner Sherwood on Court 6 to cut the Deacon lead to 3-1.
Wake Forest then clinched then match at No. 1 singles as 88th-ranked Skupski was edged out by Carleton 7-5, 6-4. Even though the match was decided at 4-1, LSU led in the final two singles matches and both were played to their completion.
Borsos picked up a ranked win over 67th-ranked Wolff 7-5, 4-6, (10-7) on Court 2, and LSU senior Julien Gauthier took down Adam Lee of Wake Forest 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 5 singles to put the final score at 4-3.
With the loss, LSU is now 2-1 all-time against Wake Forest. This was the second consecutive close match between the two teams, as LSU clinched a 4-3 victory over the Demon Deacons in Baton Rouge last March.
The Tigers will take the courts again in exactly one week when they square-off against 10th-ranked Texas A&M on Feb. 27 in College Station, Texas, before beginning SEC play on March 4 against Florida in Gainesville.
For up-to-date information and behind the scenes access to the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s team on Twitter @lsutennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
LSU vs. Wake Forest
Feb 20, 2011 at Winston-Salem, N.C.
(WF Indoor Tennis Center)
#37 Wake Forest 4, #35 LSU 3
Singles competition
1. #123 Tripper Carleton (WF) def. #88 Neal Skupski (LSU) 7-5, 6-4
2. Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. #67 Jonathan Wolff (WF) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
3. Danny Kreyman (WF) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Iain Atkinson (WF) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Adam Lee (WF) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Tom Knights (LSU) def. Conner Sherwood (WF) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #14 Neal Skupski/Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Iain Atkinson/Tripper Carleton (WF) 9-8 (3)
2. Danny Kreyman/Jonathan Wolff (WF) def. Mark Bowtell/Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 8-3
3. David Hopkins/Zach Leslie (WF) def. Roger Anderson/Olivier Borsos (LSU) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,3,6,1,5,2)