Both the men and women’s tennis teams secured their first Southeastern Conference victories of the season against the Auburn Tigers last weekend.
The men defeated No. 17 Auburn, 6-1, on Sunday but lost to the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide, 6-1, on Friday.
The Tigers (7-2, 1-1 SEC) moved up to the No. 21 spot in the nation after their Sunday victory against Auburn. LSU travels to challenge No. 14 South Carolina today in Columbia, S.C., and No. 2 Florida Sunday in Gaineville, Fla.
Cory Ross extended his winning streak to 10 consecutive matches with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Auburn’s Rodrigo Minozzo. Ross is 16-5 on the season, while teammates Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazley improved to 15-3 on the season in doubles play with a 8-3 victory over the War Eagle tandem of Andy Columbo and Tom George.
The women also dropped to No. 32 Alabama, 7-0, on Friday but bounced back against No. 29 Auburn Sunday with a 5-2 victory.
The Lady Tigers (7-4, 1-1 SEC) got key victories from Rocio Fantilli and Amanda Mang in the Auburn match. Fantilli defeated No. 93 Carolina Ramirez in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Mang upended No. 108 Isabel Rosenbrock in three sets, 0-6, 7-5, 6-2. Mang improved to 7-3 on the season with the win.
“I think that our players had a better sense of what they were getting into versus an SEC opponent, and they were more prepared,” said women’s tennis head coach Tony Minnis. “Right now we just need to build on this win and get ready for both South Carolina and Florida next week.”
The Lady Tigers host No. 16 South Carolina today at the W.T. “Dub” Robison Stadium at 4 p.m. On Sunday the Lady Tigers host No. 1 Florida at 1 p.m.