April 23, 2009

AUBURN, Ala. – A rally from No. 28 South Carolina fell just short in a 4-2 loss to No. 30 LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Yarbrough Tennis Center Thursday afternoon. The ninth-seeded Gamecocks dropped the doubles point but junior Ivan Cressoni and freshman Ivan Machado won two of the first four singles matches to be decided to keep South Carolina in the match. Both remaining singles matches were even at a set apiece before LSU’s Neal Skupski fought past South Carolina’s Jaime Cuellar in the No. 3 match to give the Tigers the victory.

LSU swept the Nos. 1 and 3 doubles matches by identical 8-4 scores to take the early lead in the contest. The Gamecocks were quick to strike in singles, however, with juniors Diego Cubas and Pedro Campos winning their first sets in the Nos. 1 and 2 matches, respectively. In the Nos. 4 and 6 matches, Machado and Cressoni, respectively, also struck first, setting up the Gamecock rally.

Cressoni was the first to close out his match, topping Jonathan Tragardh 6-4, 6-2 to level the match a 1-1. Almost immediately, Mark Bowtell put the Tigers back in front with a straight-set win over sophomore Johannes Pulsfort in the No. 5 match.

In the No. 1 match, Cubas saw the nation’s sixth-ranked player, Michael Venus, bounce back from losing the first set 2-6 with an efficient 6-1 victory in the second set. Venus’ momentum continued with an early break in the third set, which he went on to win 6-3.

Meanwhile, Machado was in a battle at No. 4. After winning the first set 6-4, the Gamecock freshman could not break Sebastian Carlsson’s serve in the second set. The match went to a tiebreaker, which Machado claimed to pull the Gamecocks back within a point at 2-3. The outcome rested on the final two matches, which were both dead even.

In the No. 3 spot, Skupski had posted a convincing 6-2 win over Cuellar in the first set. The Gamecock senior responded with a 6-1 second-set victory, and was up 5-3 in the third, only to see the LSU freshman push back to win the next four games for a 7-5 third-set victory, which sealed the team’s win as well.

South Carolina (15-10, 3-8 SEC) now waits for the NCAA Tournament selection, which will be Tue., April 28, at approximately 5:20 p.m. The bracket announcement will be broadcast on ESPNews.

No. 30 LSU 4, No. 28 South Carolina 2

Doubles: (Order of Finish: 3, 1)
1. (3) Michael Venus/Neal Skupski (LSU) def. (23) Diego Cubas/Ivan Machado (SC) 8-4
2. Pedro Campos/Joe Veeder (SC) vs. James Cluskey/Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) 6-6, suspended
3. Sebastian Carlsson/Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Ivan Cressoni/Johannes Pulsfort (SC) 8-4

Singles: (Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 3)
1. (6) Michael Venus (LSU) def. (51) Diego Cubas (SC) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. Pedro Campos (SC) vs. James Cluskey (LSU) 6-4, 4-6, 3-3 suspended
3. Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Jaime Cuellar (SC) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
4. Ivan Machado (SC) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 6-4, 7-6
5. Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Johannes Pulsfort (SC) 6-4, 6-1
6. Ivan Cressoni (SC) def. Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) 6-4, 6-2