BATON ROUGE — The ninth-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will put its seven-match winning streak on the line Tuesday when it faces No. 8 SMU at 2 p.m. in Baton Rouge.
“SMU is one of the top teams in the nation as evident by its record and ranking,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “This is a good chance for us to see where we are heading into the final stretch of conference matches.”
During the streak, LSU (15-2) has won by a combined score of 43-6, with five of the seven wins over ranked foes.
“Everybody has begun to get comfortable with their position and role on the team lately and that has paid off with wins. We are competing well at every spot and that is what we need to do to win,” said Brown.
The Mustangs have won three straight since falling to No. 5 Illinois 5-2 two weeks ago.
The Tigers are led into the match by No. 22 Tom Hand and No. 28 Michal Chmela. Chmela is also ranked in doubles, holding the 14th position with partner Dan Kiernan.
SMU (18-3) brings three ranked players into the match: No. 14 Toby Hansson, No. 57 Jon Wallmark and No. 84 Genius Chidzikwe. Hansson and Wallmark team up to form the ninth-ranked doubles
team in the nation.
“Their singles line up is very strong. We just need to come out and play smart and fight for every point.”
The last time the two teams met, in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Championships, LSU ousted SMU from the tournament with a 4-0 win.