College Tennis News - LSU Drops 4-0 Match to No. 13 Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. --- The No. 32 LSU (1-1) men’s tennis team could not hold on as they fell victim to the 13th-ranked California Golden Bears (2-0), 4-0, on Sunday in the 2012 ITA Kick-Off Weekend event held at the Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley, Calif.

The Tigers struck first as senior Neal Skupski and sophomore James Turbervill defeated California’s Riki McLachlan and Tommie Murphy 8-2 on court three.

On court two, the Bears’ 27th-ranked duo of Carlos Cueto and Ben McLachlan looked to even things up, taking down LSU’s Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski, 8-5.

At the top court, No. 28 Olivier Borsos and Chris Simpson kept it close with fifth-ranked Nick Andrews and Christoffer Konigsfeldt before losing the doubles match 8-4 and giving California the first point of the dual.

In singles, the Tigers’ hopes of turning the match around in their favor began to diminish quickly after California swept the first set on all six courts.

Szacinski was the first Tiger to meet defeat in singles play, falling in a straight-set fashion to Konigsfeldt 6-1, 6-4.

Skupski also was unable to put together a victory, dropping the match to Cueto in straight sets and swinging the advantage in California’s favor.

The dual match was decided on court one when Andrews took down Borsos, 6-4, 6-2, solidifying California’s 4-0 victory.

Knights, Simpson and Turbervill did not finish their matches.

“There were a couple of turning points in doubles that we weren’t able to take advantage of today,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “We competed well, but did not execute in areas that we usually do. Tomorrow, we will have to make sure to execute better and keep up the competiveness.”

The Tigers will face either Minnesota or San Diego at 10 a.m. PT on Monday.

Be sure to follow @lsutennis on twitter and visit www.itatennis.com for complete information on the tournament.

No. 13 California 4, No. 32 LSU 0
2012 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif.
Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012

Doubles

1. No. 5 Andrews/Konigsfeldt (CAL) def. No. 28 Borsos/Simpson (LSU); 8-4
2. No. 27 Cueto/B. McLachlan (CAL) def. Anderson/Szacinski (LSU); 8-5
3. Skupski/Turbervill (LSU) def. R. McLachlan/Murphy (CAL); 8-2

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1* (California wins doubles point)

Singles

1. Nick Andrews (CAL) def. No. 68 Olivier Borsos (LSU); 6-4, 6-2
2. Carlos Cueto (CAL) def. Neal Skupski (LSU); 6-4, 6-2
3. No. 42 Ben McLachlan vs. Chris Simpson (LSU); 6-3, 2-4 DNF
4. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (CAL) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU); 6-1, 6-4
5. Gregory Bayane (CAL) vs. Tom Knights (LSU); 6-4, 3-5 DNF
6. Ahmed Ismail (CAL) vs. James Turbervill (LSU); 7-5, 1-6, 2-1 DNF

Order of finish: 4, 2, 1*