The LSU men’s tennis team will play its first Southeastern Conference road match when they face Vanderbilt on Friday at 2 p.m. before traveling to play No. 21 Kentucky on Sunday.The Tigers come into this weekend 0-2 in SEC play following home losses to Auburn and Alabama last weekend.LSU freshman Neal Skupski said the seniors have stepped up to get the team back on track.”James [Cluskey] and Jon [Tragardh] have helped us,” Skupski said. “They’ve just been getting behind the guys trying to lift their spirits. Practice has been a bit better. Everyone was down, but they brought it back to life.”Skupski and senior Michael Venus pair up to make the No. 13 doubles team in the country. They will presumably face Vanderbilt’s No. 30 ranked duo of Adam Baker and Alex Zotov. Venus, ranked No. 9 individually, has been fighting a nagging injury but will still play this weekend. “Vanderbilt has a good singles lineup, so hopefully we can sneak the doubles points and see what happens,” Skupski said. “We just have to go in positive, work hard and see what we can do. I’ve got confidence in the team. I think we can get two wins.”Cluskey said the Tigers have to be ready to play in the hostile atmosphere.”Being on the road is going to be pretty tough, but I am pretty confident going into Vandy,” Cluskey said. “Last time we were there we won, 4-3, so we know it’s a tough place to go. Everyone has to play well but I think we can get it going this week. You’re going to take some losses along the way, but you just got to bounce back and keep fighting.”LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown said he likes his team’s chances against the Commodores.”They’re a good team,” Brown said. “On the road it’s going to be difficult, but I think we match up pretty well.”WOMEN’S TENNISThe No. 20 LSU women’s tennis team plays its first home SEC matches of the season when the Lady Tigers host No. 27 Vanderbilt on Friday before welcoming No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday.”In this league this year, any given day you can be beat,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “Now it’s just going to be who plays with the most poise.”LSU goes into this weekend 0-2 in league play after losing their SEC openers to Auburn and Alabama on the road.”It’s a great opportunity to get a couple wins if possible,” Minnis said. “Hopefully we come in with the right mindset. We’ve been on the road eight out of the last 11 matches so it’s nice to be home for a nice stretch. [This weekend] is important for our goals on a national level with what we’re trying to accomplish. It’s a cliché, but you have to play one match, one point at a time.”——Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]