With the Southeastern Conference tournament just six days away, coach Jeff Brown may have a lot on his mind. Yet at this point in the season, Brown has just one thing to focus on: defeating the defending SEC Champion Florida Gators.
“I think we’re confident in the way we’re playing right now,” Brown said. “It isn’t always determined by one team. You’d always want to win.”
The No. 14 ranked LSU men’s tennis team will welcome No. 9 Florida on Friday to W.T. Robinson Stadium.
LSU (15-4, 6-3 SEC) is currently riding a three-game winning streak, following victories at Arkansas and at Tulsa.
The winner of the Florida-LSU matchup will determine seeding in the SEC tournament, which begins next Thursday.
If LSU defeats Florida, the Tigers would then be pulling for the Kentucky Wildcats to upset Ole Miss on Sunday, thus giving LSU a share of the SEC title.
Brown said he does not have a problem with possibly having four co-champions.
“I’ve done it in ’85 as a player,” Brown said. “We were tied with Georgia and we were SEC Champions. Unless you’re going to play everyone, home and away, and in the tournament, then you’re going to have this kind of situation.”
Florida brings in two All-Americans, including No. 7 Hamid Mirzadeh.
Brown said Mirzadeh shows a lot of class as an SEC player.
“He’s a good athlete,” Brown said. “He’s a good player and he’s got a future in pro tennis. He brings a lot of class and is a good representative of the SEC.”
Redshirt freshman Ken Skupski will face off with Mirzadeh on the No. 1 court in singles.
No. 28 Skupski has recorded two straight victories at No. 1 singles, as well as earning 10 victories over ranked opponents this season.
Brown said the matchup of Skupski and Mirzadeh will be an interesting one to see.
“They’ve both beaten a lot of people who the other guys have lost to,” Brown said. “It just depends on the day. You just let it all hang out and hope for the best.”
In the doubles, LSU is led by junior Jason Hazley and senior Bryan Fisher, who are currently ranked No. 26 in the nation.
“They’ve done well,” Brown said. “They continue to build and it shows that they’ve turned it back around.
The duo of Hazley and Fisher is also riding a two-game wining streak.
In Nashville, the No. 19 ranked LSU women’s tennis team began SEC Tournament play with a 4-0 win over the No. 12 seeded Arkansas Lady Razorbacks.
With the win, LSU (17-6, 6-5) earned its eighth straight victory.
The win also served as LSU’s first in SEC Tournament play since 2000.
The Lady Tigers were led by sophomore Marina Chiarelli, who defeated Arkansas’ Megan Ferreira, 6-1, 6-0.
Senior Rocio Fantilli got past Arkansas’ Illiana Pacheco, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2.
In the doubles, sophomore Daysi Espinal and junior Amanda Mang earned a victory in getting past Pacheco and Christian Kincannon, 8-3.
The Lady Tigers will now begin preparations for the No. 4-seed Tennessee Lady Volunteers. The Lady Vols have already defeated LSU this year, winning 6-1 in Knoxville earlier in the season.