College Tennis News - LSU Sweeps No. 25 Minnesota, 4-0

BERKELEY, Calif. -- No. 32 LSU men's tennis blanked the 25th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers on Monday to conclude the Tigers' run at the ITA Kick-off Weekend in Berkeley, Calif.   

LSU (2-1) came out strong against Minnesota (1-2), bouncing back after their tough loss to No. 13 California on Sunday.   The No. 28 duo of junior Olivier Borsos and freshman Chris Simpson got the ball rolling for the Tigers, taking down Minnesota's 55th-ranked Phillip Arndt and Leandro Toledo 8-4 on the top court.   On court two, juniors Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski dropped their match to No. 50 Rok Bonin and Julian Dehn to even out the playing field at 1-1.   With the doubles point on the line, senior Neal Skupski and sophomore James Turbervill put together a championship-like performance, edging past Minnesota's Eric Frueh and Michael Sicora to secure the doubles point for the Tigers. 

In singles play, the Tigers did not let up, winning all three matches in straight sets.   Senior Tom Knights did not waste any time, earning a quick 6-1, 6-3 victory over Sicora.   Turbervill was next to complete his match, posting a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) win over Mathieu Froment.   

On court one, No. 68 Borsos clinched the match for the Tigers, eliminating Arndt 6-2, 7-6 (3), concluding the dual match with the final score of 4-0.   "They were very tough," head coach Jeff Brown said. "The guys came out with the right energy today. After a tough loss, they understood the opportunity and handled pressure situations well. It was a good win for us against a very talented Minnesota team."   

The Tigers return to Baton Rouge tonight where they will begin preparation for their first home match against Clemson Thursday at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be hosted at W.T. "Dub" Robinson Tennis Stadium. Admission is free.   

For more information on the team, follow the Tigers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis or Twitter at @lsutennis.   No. 32 LSU 4, No. 25 Minnesota 0 2012 ITA Kick-Off Weekend Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif. Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

Doubles 1. No. 28 Borsos/Simspon (LSU) def. No. 55 Arndt/Toledo (MINN); 8-4 2. No. 50 Bonin/Dehn (MINN) def. Anderson/Szacinski (LSU); 8-4 3. Skupski/Turbervill (LSU) def. Frueh/Sicora (MINN); 9-8(2) Order of finish: 1, 2, 3* (LSU wins doubles point)

Singles 1. No. 68 Olivier Borsos (LSU) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN); 6-2, 7-6(3) 2. Neal Skupski (LSU) vs. No. 118 Leandro Toledo (MINN); DNF 3. Chris Simpson (LSU) vs. Rok Bonin (MINN); DNF 4. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) vs. Julian Dehn (MINN); DNF 5. Tom Knights (LSU) def. Michael Sicora (MINN); 6-1, 6-3 6. James Turbervill (LSU) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN); 7-6(3), 7-6(5) Order of finish: 5, 6, 1*