Despite the commencement of war in Iraq, the LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams are involved in non-conference matches this weekend.
Saturday the No. 27 LSU men’s tennis team hosts No. 16 Texas at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The Longhorns (8-3, 2-0 Big 12) are on a five-match winning streak coming into the weekend.
LSU (8-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) fell in the rankings from No. 2O despite splitting the weekend series. LSU defeated No. 33 Tennessee, 4-3, last Friday but fell to No. 17 Georgia, 4-3, Sunday.
After playing on the road for the last two weeks, men’s tennis head coach Jeff Brown expressed relief about the upcoming homestand.
“After two straight weeks on the road, it’s been nice to practice at home and get the guys back in the flow of school,” Brown said. “It’ll be nice to play in front of our people.”
The LSU Lady Tigers (7-8, 1-5 SEC) host No. 31 Ohio State Sunday at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The Buckeyes (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten) have won four of their last five decisions. The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 50 in the nation.
Brown commented on the ongoing struggle in Iraq as an outlet for many Americans, typically sport’s fans.
“I think college tennis, and sport in general, is a good distraction from the war, basically,” he said. “I think that anytime you have things like that, you realize what we’re doing is a game, and you don’t die at the end of it. It’s a great time to think about how blessed we are to do what we do.”