The LSU men’s tennis team has an oppurtuntity to do something on Friday that it has not done since 2001. Beat Ole Miss.
The No. 19 Tigers hosts the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels on Friday at 2 p.m. and the unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be held at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
Ole Miss has won the last five meetings against LSU in the series, including a pair of 4-3 matches last season.
The match with Ole Miss is significant for both teams in the race for the Southeastern Conference Western Division Title. The Rebels currently lead the west with a record of 5-1. LSU is only a game behind at 4-2.
“Anytime we play Ole Miss, it’s usually got some major implications,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown.
The Rebels will be the second consecutive Top-10 team LSU has hosted. The Tigers defeated then No. 8 Florida on Sunday.
“It’s huge,” said junior Ken Skupski of Friday’s match. “It was a big advantage for us to win last week. We are able to believe that we can beat a big team.”
Ole Miss coach Billy Chadwick said he knows the magnitude of Friday’s match.
“This weekend will determine a lot as to how the conference race shapes up,” Chadwick said in a news release. “Baton Rouge is always a tough place to play, and [LSU] just beat Florida.”
The Rebels’ 16th-ranked singles player Erling Tveit enters Friday’s match having won 10 of his last 11 matches. Tveit will likely match up with LSU’s Skupski, who is ranked 22nd.
The Tigers’ Sunday opponent, Mississippi State, has struggled this season. The Bulldogs are 4-8 overall and tied for last place in the SEC with a 1-5 record.
Despite the Bulldogs’ poor performance to this point, Skupski said the Tigers will not overlook them.
“Obviously, it all depends on how well we play on Friday,” Skupski said. “If we play well and win, we should be able to gain momentum and roll over Mississippi State. If we have a bad loss, we will come out Sunday hungry for a win. Either way, we’ll be ready.”
 
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