The LSU men’s tennis team dropped to 0-4 in the Southeastern Conference and below .500 on the season after a frustrating 6-1 loss to Alabama Sunday afternoon.

One of the contributing factors to the Tigers worst start in SEC play since 2005 has been their inconsistent play in doubles, something LSU coach Jeff Brown said has to be worked on in practice.

“We have some guys who have lost all confidence,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “We will look at it this week and see if we can get guys out there who have the right mindset.”

The Crimson Tide rolled through the doubles point as Becker O’Shaughnessey and Daniil Proskura defeated senior Roger Anderson and freshman Tam Trinh 8-6. Senior Olivier Borsos and freshman Harrison Kennedy made their debut as a doubles pair, but fell 8-4 to Stuart Kenyon and Philippe Tsangarides.

The Tigers came out fighting in singles play, with Borsos, Kennedy and sophomore Chris Simpson all winning their opening sets. They were unable to maintain the momentum though as all three went on to lose the last two sets.

Senior Mark Bowtell pushed David Vieyra to a tiebreak in the first two sets but came away empty handed as he lost 7-6, 7-6.

“I thought we started real well after playing a lousy doubles point,” Brown said. “We have to get a win to put some pressure on the [opposing players] who are still out there. We have to be in position to win [a match] before we can win.”

The lone bright spot for LSU was senior Stefan Szacinski, who fought back from a rough first set to win the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. It was his second win of the weekend.

“We played a little better today, and we had the energy we wanted,” Brown said. ”We will just have to work on it in practice and get ready for the next match.”

The Tigers will be on the road once again for their next match when they take on No. 14 Texas A&M on Friday, March 15 at 6 p.m.  in College Station, Texas.