COLUMBIA, S.C. – The LSU men’s tennis team picked up both its first road win and first conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon, taking down the South Carolina Gamecocks 5-2 on the courts of the USC Fieldhouse Indoor Tennis Facility.
Competition was moved from the Gamecocks’ Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center into the Fieldhouse due to rain in the area.
With the win, the Tigers (4-6, 1-1 SEC) snapped their four-match losing streak, while handing the Gamecocks (5-6, 1-1 SEC) their first home defeat of the season.
“We got the total team effort we were looking for today,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “It was a really hard-fought match in both doubles and singles. We were able to get through the doubles point and grab the momentum, and then we got a couple quick singles wins to set the stage and put pressure on South Carolina.”
The Tigers started off strong by capturing the doubles point, something they had failed to do in their previous four matches.
Even though USC was first off the courts with a doubles win on Court 2, the 17th-ranked Tiger tandem of senior Sebastian Carlsson and junior Neal Skupski responded with an easy 8-3 win over South Carolina’s Ivan Machado and Nick Jones at No. 1 doubles.
With the first two doubles matches split, the LSU sophomore duo of Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski came through in the clutch for the Tigers, outlasting the Gamecocks’ Johannes Pulsfort and Chris Sheehan 9-8 on Court 3.
The Tigers rode their doubles momentum into singles play as No. 69 Skupski made quick work of Machado 6-1, 6-1 on Court 1 to give LSU a 2-0 advantage. Sophomore Olivier Borsos quickly increased the lead to 3-0 by dispatching Jones 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
USC’s Chip Cox picked up the first point for the Gamecocks with a 6-4, 7-6 win over LSU’s Mark Bowtell on Court 4, but senior co-captain Julien Gauthier sealed the win for LSU with a straight-set victory against USC’s Harry Menzies 7-6, 6-3.
Even thought the match was decided at 4-1, the final two singles matches were played to their completion. Szacinski dropped a tough three-set match to Alexander Kostanov 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 on Court 3, and Carlsson finished-off Pulsfort 6-3, 6-4 to make the final score 5-2.
LSU is now 28-7 all-time against South Carolina, and have beaten the Gamecocks in six straight matches dating back to 2005.
The Tigers will return home from a five-match road trip to square off against No. 1 Virginia on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CST in LSU’s W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. It will be the first action at home for LSU since Feb. 8.
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. South Carolina
Mar 6, 2011 at Columbia, S.C.
USC Fieldhouse Indoor Tennis Facility
#53 LSU 5, South Carolina 2
Singles competition
1. #69 Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Ivan Machado (USC) 6-1, 6-3
2. Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. Nick Jones (USC) 6-2, 6-1
3. Alexander Kostanov (USC) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
4. Chip Cox (USC) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-4, 7-6
5. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Johannes Pulsfort (USC) 6-3, 6-4
6. Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Harry Menzies (USC) 7-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #17 Neal Skupski/Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) def. Ivan Machado/Nick Jones (USC) 8-3
2. Alexander Kostanov/Chip Cox (USC) def. Olivier Borsos/Tom Knights (LSU) 8-4
3. Stefan Szacinski/Roger Anderson (LSU) def. Johannes Pulsfort/Chris Sheehan (USC) 9-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,4,6,3,5)