The No. 25 ranked LSU men’s tennis team will face No. 56 Rice in a match that was originally supposed to be the first leg of a doubleheader, but was rescheduled due to rain.

The Tigers will face a Rice side they have battled to a 3-1 record since the 2007-08 season.

“They’re a strong team, it’s similar to a Southeastern Conference level opponent,” said coach Jeff Brown. “They’ve always played us tough so we know what to expect.”

The Owls’ feature senior Jonathan Chang who possesses a 4-2 record so far in dual match season, and was selected to the All Conference USA team last season.

LSU’s No. 1, senior Olivier Borsos, is an injury concern heading into the match. He was forced to stop and receive treatment in a Feb. 3 match against South Florida.

“He was out for a couple of months in the fall, so he’s just trying to get back his match fitness,” Brown said. “There’s a big difference between being fit at practice and being fit for a match.”

LSU has received solid play from the bottom half of its lineup as Borsos and senior Stefan Szacinski have struggled for match fitness.

Freshman Tam Trinh, senior Mark Bowtell and senior Roger Anderson have all fought to 3-1 singles records on the season, often proving crucial in securing victories for the Tigers.

“You always want everyone to come out in top form, but that doesn’t happen all the time,” Szacinski said. “But it’s always nice when the guys playing in the 4, 5 and 6 spots can pick up the slack.”

The Rice match leads LSU into its toughest portion of the season so far, where it will face No. 27 Texas Tech and No. 4 Ohio State.

“The schedule gets tougher in the coming weeks,” Brown said. “We’ve got some tough matches coming up, so we’ll look to continue improving our fitness and get ready for the rest of the season.”

The No. 25 LSU Tigers will take on the No. 56 Rice Owls Thursday at 1 P.M. in the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.