After two matches on the road, the No. 13 LSU men’s tennis team will stay home this weekend and face No. 4 Ole Miss today at 4 p.m. and Mississippi State Sunday at 1 p.m.
LSU coach Jeff Brown said rankings do not make a difference in the match.
“Everybody’s pretty confident at this point in the SEC,” Brown said. “We’re not looking at the rankings.”
The Tigers enter the matches with a record of 10-2, (2-2, Southeastern Conference). They hold a 42-7 advantage over the Rebels overall, but the Rebels have won the last two matches. Ole Miss is 14-1 overall with a 5-0 SEC record.
Brown pointed out the Rebels have some great players.
“[Ole Miss has] a talented lineup that has had a lot of success this season,” Brown said. “They’ve been consistent.”
Brown said the recent road trip helped the Tigers in their progression.
“We learned how intense we have to play to be at our best,” Brown said.
Ole Miss coach Billy Chadwick said he knows beating the Tigers in W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium will not be easy.
“This is a big weekend for us,” Chadwick said. “It’s always tough to beat LSU at their place, but the guys are ready for the challenge.”
On Sunday, The Tigers will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, also in “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
After two big upset wins over top-20 teams Texas A&M and Kentucky, the No. 25 LSU women’s tennis team invades the state of Mississippi to take on No. 58 Ole Miss today at 4 p.m. and Mississippi State Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Lady Tigers will be seeking their first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent on the road this season.
Last year, the Lady Tigers beat the Lady Rebels 4-3 in their regular-season matchup, while Ole Miss eliminated LSU 4-3 later on at the SEC tournament.
Ole Miss coach Mark Beyers said the Lady Rebels were entering an important part of their schedule. Ole Miss enters with a 9-7 record, 3-5 in the SEC.
“This is an important weekend for us in the SEC and nationally, as we enter the stretch run of our schedule,” Beyers said. “LSU has posted some good wins over top-20 teams. The last two meetings have been very close.”
Ole Miss leads the overall series 18-10 and has won 11 of the last 12 matches.
LSU coach Tony Minnis said he wants the team to give it their all this weekend.
“The biggest thing we’ve been stessing the entire season with this team is to give a 100-percent effort on a day-to-day basis and that would put us in a good position to win, if you play with all-out intensity,” Minnis said.
Minnis said the competition this weekend would be a challenge.
“[Ole Miss is] a very good team,” Minnis said. “Their record is no indication as to how good they really are. Same with [Mississippi State], they’ve been struggling but any time you step on the court in this conference, you can get beat.”
Mississippi State enters the match with a 5-9 (0-6, SEC) record and will face Arkansas in Fayetteville today before coming home to face the Lady Tigers.
LSU won last year in Baton Rouge 5-2 and has a series record of 23-6 against the Lady Bulldogs.