The No. 14 LSU men’s tennis team swept a doubleheader in the blistering cold Saturday, defeating Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of New Orleans at “Dub” Robinson Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Ragin Cajuns in the first match, 4-0, before beating UNO, 4-0. “We had quality opponents,” said LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown. “I was glad to see they brought quality teams in and made it tough on us, but not so tough that we didn’t win. It was nice that we were able to stop after we got four points and didn’t have to wait for a final match to go down for an extra hour and a half or something.” LSU’s No. 9 ranked duo of senior Michael Venus and Freshman Neal Skupski continued their impressive runs this season. In singles play, Venus defeated Piotr Olechowski of ULL (6-2, 6-3), locking up the win against the Ragin Cajuns. Skupski sealed the victory aginst UNO, claiming a (6-2, 6-4) vistory against ULL’s Vinay Kamineni. The two were also able to beat Yanick Mandl and Arlen Domoneyof ULL 8-4 in doubles competition. Skupski and Venus later lost to Ben Smith and Calvin Kemp of UNO, 8-4. Venus said playing in the 50 degree winds was definitely challenging. “It was windy and cold out today, so it was tough,” Venus said. “But we managed to get it done. It’s not pleasant playing in the cold, but the other team has to do it as well. Once you’re warmed up you don’t even notice it. It got better as the day went on actually.” Senior James Cluskey said he was glad the team could pull through in the harsh weather. “The conditions can be a big equalizer and can make it a lot closer,” Cluskey said. “I thought we took care of business.” The Tigers go back into action next weekend when they take on Auburn on Friday at “Dub” Robinson Stadium. They face Alabama on Sunday. “I think [this weekend] was a good prep for Auburn and Alabama next weekend,” Brown said. “We’re just going to keep getting better and get everybody healthy.” WOMEN’S TENNIS BEATS ULL The No. 26 LSU women’s tennis team defeated ULL on Saturday at the Cajun Courts in Lafayette, 7-0. “Our team played really well today,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “It wasn’t a very easy 7-0 win. We have to give credit to our players. We had a couple of starters who went down with nagging injuries. Kylie Adamek and Nicole Smith really stepped up and held it up for us.” The Lady Tigers will be back in action when they face Auburn on Friday at the Yarborugh Tennis Center in Auburn, Ala. —- Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]