With a 17-6 record and a No. 13 ranking, the LSU men’s tennis team has earned the right to host the NCAA regional rounds. The Tigers will play Southern in the first round May 15 and will play the winner of Rice and South Alabama on May 16.
Coach Jeff Brown said he is confident of his team’s chances heading into the tournament.
“The layoff is the only thing I would be concerned about,” Brown said. “We’ve had a couple weeks off, but I have no concerns about this team.”
Three-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference Champion Southern does not cause Brown much concern.
“We’ve all seen things happen but we’re very confident in our ability and we’ll be ready to play,” Brown said.
The Tigers defeated Southern 6-1 earlier this season.
No. 14 Rice and No. 47 South Alabama will play after the LSU-Southern match. The winners of the two matches will play Sunday.
Brown said the Tigers should advance deep into the tournament as long as the players play to their abilities.
“We need to take care of business against our opponents,” Brown said. “It will take a great team effort to play well. We’ve got to go one match at a time.”
The Lady Tigers will face a tougher road to the NCAA Championships.
The Southeastern Conference West Champions will travel to Austin, Texas, for their regional matches.
LSU will face No. 41 Arizona State in the first round today.
Coach Tony Minnis said Arizona State is an underrated team.
“They’re a very good team,” Minnis said. “Their record is not indicative of how good they are. They played in a tough conference in the Pac-10, and they lost some tough matches because of that.”
Minnis said the individuals on the team will determine the Lady Tigers’ success in the tournament.
“It depends on the mindset of our players,” Minnis said. “If they play how they played in the last part of the season, we should do well in the tournament. But if we play with the inconsistency as we did in the beginning, we don’t do as well.”
If the Lady Tigers prevail in the first round they will face the winner of No. 13 seed Texas and Texas Arlington on Saturday.