The LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams return to Southeastern Conference action this weekend after a one-week hiatus.
Friday, the LSU men’s tennis team (9-5, 2-4 SEC) hosts No. 14 Vanderbilt (13-2, 4-2 SEC) at 2 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. The Commodores have won nine of their last 10 matches and boast two top 10, nationally-ranked singles players in No. 2 Bobby Reynolds and No. 10 Chad Harris.
Sunday the Tigers host No. 12 Kentucky (12-7, 5-3). The match is set for 1 p.m. The Wildcats boast the No. 13 nationally-ranked singles player, Jesse Witten.
“We know all the guys that are on all the other teams,” said men’s tennis head coach Jeff Brown. “It’s just a matter of who shows up with the best attitude and works the hardest during the match that’s going to win.”
The Tigers counter with No. 38 Peter Richman, coming off a triumph against No. 28 Jean Simon of Texas last weekend. The victory landed Richman SEC men’s Tennis Player of the Week honors.
Also this week the men’s tennis team moved up seven spots in the rankings to No. 20 after upsetting No. 16 Texas, 4-3, last weekend. The doubles tandem of Jason Hazley and Bryan Fisher jumped one spot to No. 13 in doubles rankings.
“I think they feel good about every match right now,” Brown said about the Tigers. “I don’t think we’re going to feel overconfident for anybody, but we’re definitely not going to feel like we’re ever out of a match.”
The LSU women’s tennis team (8-8, 1-5 SEC) looks to build on the success of last weekend’s 5-2 victory against No. 31 Ohio State. The Lady Tigers travel to face No. 13 Vanderbilt (13-3, 4-2 SEC) today at 2:30 p.m., and then they travel to challenge No. 15 Kentucky (14-6, 4-2 SEC) Sunday at noon.
The Lady Tigers earned singles victories last weekend from Amanda Mang, Marina Chiarelli, Daysi Espinal and Camila Caliari. Caliari clinched the match versus the Lady Buckeyes with a 6-3, 6-4, victory against Lindsey Adams.