Ken Skupski
| School: |
Louisiana State University |
| Year: |
graduated |
| Home Town: |
Liverpool |
| Home State: |
N/A |
| Home Country: |
United States(USA) |
| High School: |
King David |
| Height: |
6-1 |
| Weight: |
180 lbs. |
| Birth Date: |
Saturday, April 09, 1983 |
| Dominant Hand: |
Right |
| Major: |
general studies |
| Singles Record: |
104-54 |
| Doubles Record: |
108-40 |
2006 ITA All-American
2006 SEC Indoor Champion
2006 First-Team All-SEC
2006 First-Team All-Louisiana
2006 ITA Preseason No. 1 doubles team
2006 Wells Fargo Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournament Champion
2006 ITA Scholar-Athlete
2005 ITA All-American
2005 SEC Indoors Champion
2005 ITA Scholar-Athlete
2005 First-Team All-SEC
2005 Louisiana Player of the Year
2005 First-Team All-Louisiana
2004 ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Champion
2004 ITA All-American Championships Singles Semifinalist
2004 First-Team All-SEC
2004 Louisiana Freshman of the Year
2004 First-Team All-Louisiana
Coach Brown on Skupski
“Ken is really looking for this year to be a springboard onto the pro tour. He has always been extremely driven to make it on the pro tour and his results have been outstanding. He is looking forward to using this year to become more physically fit and wants to stay focused so when he steps on the pro tour he can continue to have success.”
The team’s biggest weapon looks to continue to lead the Tigers as he enters his senior campaign. Skupski has proven to be a dominant force on the indoor courts, as he became the first Tiger player to win the SEC Coaches Indoor Championship and the first player in the history of the tournament to win back-to-back titles. Skupski has 89 career singles victories, which ranks 12th in school history. Skupski will be without his longtime friend and doubles partner Mark Growcott this year, as Growcott finished his eligibility last season. Skupski should not miss a beat in doubles though as he will start the season with James Cluskey as his partner. Cluskey and Skupski reached two ITA doubles semifinals during the fall season.
Fall 2006
Ranked No. 12 in the preseason ITA rankings … Ranked No 28 in the preseason ITA doubles rankings with partner James Cluskey … Named as one of the team’s co-captains along with Danny Bryan … Teamed up with James Cluskey to reach the main draw semifinals of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships … Skupski and Cluskey defeated the then No. 3 ranked team of Middle Tennessee’s Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom in the second round of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships … Reached the quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Region III Indoor tournament … Teamed up with Cluskey to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships … Won the consolation bracket of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships … Notched nine singles victories and five doubles victories in his fall campaign … Finished the season winning four-straight matches against opponents ranked in the top 35 … Played an exhibition singles match against teammate Danny Bryan in “Duel Under the Oaks,” a charity event hosted by LSU on Oct. 29, 2006.
Junior Season (2005-06)
Named an ITA All-American in singles competition … Continued his strong play in the SEC, becoming the first player in conference history to win back-to-back SEC Coaches Indoors titles … Named an ITA Scholar-Athlete … Captured first-team All-SEC honors for the third time in his career … Named the SEC Men's Tennis Player of the Week (1/17-23/06) … Earned first-team All-Louisiana honors … Led the team in singles victories with 30 … Teamed up with Mark Growcott to reach the round of 16 at the NCAA Doubles Championships but they were beaten by Pepperdine’s second-ranked tandem of Scott Doerner and Andre Begemann … Skupski and Growcott ranked No. 17 in the final ITA doubles poll … Reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Singles Championships before being forced to withdraw due to back injuries … Ranked 19th in the final singles poll of the season … Finished off a strong fall season with a victory at the Wells Fargo Hurricane Katrina Relief Tournament ... Ranked preseason No. 1 nationally in doubles with Growcott and No. 17 in singles ... Reached the semifinals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships with doubles partner James Cluskey ... Reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Tournament with Growcott … Earned third varsity letter.
Sophomore Season (2004-05)
Followed up a stellar freshman campaign with another remarkable season for the Tigers ... Named an ITA All-American in doubles competition ... Earned first-team All-SEC honors for the second time in his career ... Named first-team All-Louisiana and the 2005 Louisiana Player of the Year ... Finished the season ranked No. 4 in doubles with partner Mark Growcott ... Reached the finals of the NCAA Men's Doubles National Championship ... He and Growcott were defeated by the top-ranked team of John Isner and Antonio Ruiz of Georgia, 7-6 (4), 7-5 ... Finished the season with a 34-10 overall record in doubles matches, including a 16-8 record against nationally ranked opponents ... Defeated the then No. 1 team of Scott Green and Ross Wilson of Ohio State, 8-4, Feb. 19 ... Finished the season ranked No. 40 in singles competition ... Defeated 12 nationally ranked opponents en route to a 24-14 overall record in singles matches ... Earned biggest victory of season against sixth-ranked Ludovic Walter of Duke in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4 ... Won SEC Coaches Indoor Title ... Named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll ... In the fall he reached the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships ... Was ranked No. 18 in the ITA preseason poll in singles ... Won the ITA Southeast Regional Championships with Growcott in their first tournament as a doubles team ... Earned a berth in singles and doubles in the ITA National Indoor Championships ... Beat three nationally ranked opponents in singles, including No. 9 Izac van der Merwe of Old Dominion ... Was 7-2 in doubles with Growcott, including a win over the No. 24 team in the nation … Earned second varsity letter.
Freshman Season (2003-04)
Piled up numerous awards in his debut season, including Louisiana Freshman of the Year, ITA Southeast Region Player to Watch, first-team All-SEC and first-team All-Louisiana ... Also named SEC Player of the Week for March 1-7 for beating No. 10-ranked Ante Matjevic in LSU's 5-2 win over Texas A&M ... One of only two freshmen in the nation to earn a berth in the 2004 NCAA Singles Championship ... Beat 11 ranked opponents en route to a 26-14 overall record ... Played at the No. 1 position throughout conference play, boasting a 6-5 record ... Finished the season ranked No. 34 in the nation ... Also had a strong doubles season, going 13-3 with Peter Richman ... The two were 8-1 at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in the SEC ...Burst onto the college tennis scene with a win in his first match over Rice's 18th-ranked Richard Barker at the Rice Crowne Plaza Invitational ... Reached the quarterfinals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championship ... Lost just three fall matches ... Earned first varsity letter.
Prior to LSU
Lettered in tennis, golf and soccer and was named sportsman of the year at King David HS ... Under-18 and Under-14 national doubles champion ... Winter nationals finalist ... Junior Wimbledon quarterfinalist ... Ranked as high as 125th by the ITF
Personal
Born April 9, 1983 ... Parents are Ken and Mary Skupski ... Has one brother, Neal (15) ... Father played professional soccer ... Decided to attend LSU because of its history, facilities, coach Brown and former Tiger Dan Kiernan.
Skupski's Career Statistics
Singles
YEAR OVERALL VS. TOP 125 SEC DUAL
W L PCT. W L PCT. W L PCT
2003-04 26 14 .650 11 13 .458 6 5 .545
2004-05 24 14 .631 12 7 .631 4 6 .400
2005-06 30 10 .750 16 6 .727 8 3 .727
Fall 2006 9 4 .692 6 4 .600 - - --
Totals 89 42 .679 45 30 .600 18 14 .563
Doubles
YEAR OVERALL VS. TOP 60 SEC DUAL
W L PCT. W L PCT. W L PCT
2003-04 26 9 .743 2 2 .500 9 2 .818
2004-05 34 10 .773 16 8 .667 9 2 .818
2005-06 26 9 .743 6 4 .600 9 2 .818
Fall 2006 5 2 .714 2 2 .500 - - --
Totals 91 30 .752 26 16 .619 27 6 .818
