The LSU men’s tennis team will put its top 25 ranking on the line May 12 when it travels to Durham, N.C., to take on No. 43 Northwestern (14-9) in the first round of the NCAA Regionals.
The No. 21 Tigers (14-10) will face the winner of No. 8 Duke and George Washington if they defeat the Wildcats in the first round.
“This is a very strong regional with Northwestern being a tough first round opponent,” said LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown. “It should be an exciting first round with the winner going on to play an elite Duke team.”
LSU has been led this season by Senior Neal Skupski and junior Olivier Borsos, who were both invited to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships beginning May 23 in Athens, Ga., as at-large singles competitors.
The No. 59-ranked Skupski compiled 74 career individual wins while going 14-8 this season. The Englishman was selected as a 2012 Second-Team All-Southeastern Conference member.
Borsos enters postseason play ranked No. 31 riding a five-match win streak. The Hungarian compiled a season record of 12-10, including seven victories against ranked opponents, and joins Skupski on the second Team All-SEC team.
The 2011-12 season was highlighted by stellar home performances as the Tigers upset No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 9 Florida in the friendly confines of W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium.
LSU will see the departure of seniors Skupski, Mark Bowtell, Tom Knights and David Roberts, but the Tiger underclassmen have a bright future.
Freshman Chris Simpson saw an outstanding first season, where he was named to the SEC’s All-Freshmen team. Simpson will be joined on next year’s squad by Texan five-star prospect Tran Trinh.
The LSU women’s tennis team returns to postseason play for the first time since 2009. They will face No. 19 Texas A&M (18-5) in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 11.
If the No. 45 Lady Tigers (11-12) are able to pull the upset, they will take on the winner of No. 15 Michigan and Illinois-Chicago.
“The good thing about now is everything is fresh,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “Hopefully we can bounce back against a familiar opponent in Texas A&M.”
The 2011-12 season was highlighted by a 5-2 home upset against No. 12-ranked Tennessee in March.
The young LSU team will part ways with two seniors, Whitney Wolf and Olivia Howlett.
The Lady Tigers will be carried into the 2012-13 season by juniors Ebie Wilson, Kaitlin Burns and Keri
Frankenberger along with sophomores Yvette Vlaar and Ariel Morton.  
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Contact Ian Fontenot at [email protected]