Louisiana State University Team Page

It took the No. 1 player in the nation to end LSU’s Ken Skupski’s outstanding singles career, as top-seeded John Isner of Georgia hit 34 aces in route to defeating Skupski, 7-6 (8), 7-5, in the NCAA round of 16 Friday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Skupski finishes his career with 104 wins, which places him fourth on the LSU career singles wins list. Isner will go on to face the winner of fifth-seeded Steven Moneke of Ohio State and Daniel Vallverdu of Miami. Skupski will get a chance to redeem himself Friday afternoon when he and doubles partner James Cluskey face third-seeded Jesse Levine and Greg Ouellette of Florida in the round of 16. “Today was an eye opener to the level of serving a player could actually produce,” Skupski said. “John served today as well as anybody could. On the other hand, I was still able to stay focused and give myself chances. I was a point away from winning the first set and felt I played my best. This gave me a great indication of the level that I am at in my game. This match shows on any given day you can play your best tennis and still lose. “I take a lot of confidence from this tournament as I head into my professional career. I have enjoyed playing for LSU and will always be a Tiger. I will never be able to repay Jeff (Brown) for everything he has done for me. I would like to thank him and Mark (Booras) for all they have done for me these past five years.” In one of the most intense sets of the tournament, each SEC star held serve in the first set to push it to a tiebreaker. Isner was on serve with a 6-5 lead when he double faulted to tie it at 6-all. Skupski won two of the next three points to go ahead 8-7. Isner rallied from there to capture three straight points and a first-set victory. The second set transpired in similar fashion. With the score tied 5-all, Isner made the first break of the match to go ahead 6-5. Skupski went up 30-love in the 12th game, but Inser’s powerful serve was too much for the senior Tiger as Isner held to take the set by a 7-5 score. A 6-1 senior from Liverpool England, Skupski ends his singles career as one of the most decorated tennis players in LSU history. The four-year letterman has played at the one spot in singles for his entire career. He received ITA All-American singles honors two times (2006, 2007.) Skupski became the first Tiger to win the SEC Coaches Indoor Championship and the first player in the history of the tournament to win back-to-back titles. He has excelled off the court as well as he has been named an ITA Scholar Athlete the past two years. “Ken faced as good of a serving performance in college that I have ever seen,” head coach Brown said. “He did well to give himself a chance by having a set point in the first set tiebreaker, considering Isner had six aces in the tiebreaker alone. “Ken has been one of the top players in college tennis for the fours years he has played here. It has been a privilege to coach such a special person. He will be successful on the pro tour and anything else he chooses to do in the future.” NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championship Round of 16 May 25, 2007 (1) #1 John Isner (Georgia) def. #24 Ken Skupski (LSU), 7-6 (8), 7-5 NCAA Men's Tennis Doubles Championship Round of 16 May 25, 2007 (4) #4 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU; 23-3 overall) vs. #32 Markus Dickhardt/Christian Groh (San Diego State), 3 p.m. EDT #22 James Cluskey/Ken Skupski (LSU 23-10 overall) vs. (3) #3 Jesse Levine/Greg Ouellette (Florida), 5:30 EDT NCAA Tournament seed in parenthesis before name # - indicates ITA national ranking entering tournament