The LSU men’s tennis team seeks its second Southeastern Conference victory this weekend against No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 14 Mississippi State.
LSU and Ole Miss square off today at 2 p.m.
No. 22 LSU (13-6, 1-5 SEC) won its first conference game of the season last weekend against Vanderbilt after losing its first five SEC matches.
Ole Miss (15-2, 5-1 SEC) lost its first SEC game of the season last weekend at No. 8 Georgia after winning its first five conference games.
The Rebels are riding a 21-game winning streak at home which dates back to April 2003. All-American Catalin Gard leads Ole Miss and is ranked No. 3 in the country in singles play.
LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown said there is no drop-off in talent on Ole Miss’ roster behind Gard.
“Ole Miss’ entire lineup is pretty similar from one through six,” Brown said. “We’re hoping to take advantage of anyone who doesn’t show up on Friday and to play a strong doubles point as well.”
LSU counters with No. 12 Ken Skupski, who still is seeking his first victory of the season at the No. 1 singles position.
Several Tigers have winning streaks on the line this weekend. Danny Bryan and Mark Growcott both have won four consecutive singles matches. Bryan and doubles partner Colt Gaston also are on four game winning streaks.
The Tigers travel from Oxford, Miss., to Starkville, Miss., Sunday to finish the weekend against Mississippi State at 1 p.m.
The LSU Lady Tigers stay home this weekend to face Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
LSU (7-7, 1-5 SEC) opens the weekend today at 4 p.m. against Ole Miss at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Both teams come into the match on losing skids. LSU has lost its last four matches while the Lady Rebs have lost two in a row.
“The team is definitely hungry for a win,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “But they know we have played some quality opponents. We have played really tough against some really tough competition and we just need to keep that up.”
Senior Amanda Mang leads the Lady Tigers in singles play ranked No. 99 in the nation.
Ole Miss (9-3, 2-4 SEC) sits at second place in the SEC West, one game ahead of the Lady Tigers, who are tied for third in the West with Alabama.
No. 57 Chloe Carlotti and No. 82 Nika Koukhartchouk headline Ole Miss’ roster. Carlotti and teammate Virginia Tomatis also are ranked No. 24 in doubles play.
LSU welcomes Mississippi State on Sunday at 1 p.m.