In Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) most recent rankings, in which the polls expanded from 25 to 50 teams, the LSU men (9-4) were included at No. 38, a similar position to where they were last year.

The team has suffered losses in three of their last four tournaments, so it’s interesting to imagine where they would’ve been before those losses.  

As it stands, the Tigers’ current best win was over No. 35 Texas Tech, and all four of their losses come against teams that are No. 30 and better. This has both positive and negative implications, as the Tigers have not lost to anyone ranked below No. 30 Tulane, but their record against teams ranked in the top-50 is 1-4. 

To improve their ranking and possibly enter the top-25, they will need to win more matches against top-50 teams. Otherwise, there’s a good chance they will either fall out of the rankings entirely, or teeter around the low-30s and high-40s like they did last season. 

They will get that chance this weekend, as they face two teams in the top-25 in No. 23 Mississippi State (9-3) and No. 24 Ole Miss (3-5). A win or two here would be huge for the Tigers, in terms of both improving their ranking and boosting their confidence.