BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team came in as the 14th-ranked team in the nation on Wednesday as the latest WingspanBank.com rankings were released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
“Our goal before the season was to be ranked among the top-16 teams in the nation at the end of the year,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We accomplished that goal this season and we put ourselves in a good position to host a regional, but all we can do right now is wait on the NCAA’s decision.”
LSU finished the season with an overall record of 14-7 and earned five victories against teams ranked in the top 25. The Tigers picked up huge Southeastern Conference victories over No. 8 Tennessee and the 11th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels during the season. The LSU tennis team ended SEC dual-match play in third place and finished with a 7-5 mark against conference opponents.
The SEC dominated the rankings on Wednesday as all 12 of the conference’s teams were ranked in the nation’s top 35. The PAC-10 boasted eight teams ranked in the top 35, while the Big-12 followed with five top-35 teams.
Georgia leads the SEC as the No. 3 team in the nation, while Tennessee is No. 8 and Ole Miss is No. 11. LSU comes in as the No. 14 team in the nation followed by No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 17 Alabama, No. 20 Auburn, No. 23 Kentucky, No. 24 Arkansas, No. 30 South Carolina, No. 32 Florida, and the 34th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
“Finishing third in this conference is quite an accomplishment,” Brown said. “The strength of the SEC is unbelievable and to finish 7-5 against some of the best teams in the nation is a great feat.”
The Tigers head into the NCAA Tournament with two of the nation’s top singles players and a highly-ranked doubles team.
LSU’s 11th-ranked Ajay Ramaswami anchors the Tigers in singles play and owns a 25-14 overall record. Ramaswami defeated 16 opponents ranked in the top 100 this season and finished with a 11-8 mark on court No. 1. LSU’s No. 2 player, Dan Kiernan, is the nation’s 48th-ranked singles player and possesses a 24-8 dual-match record. Kiernan dominated his competition on court No. 2 this season while recording a 17-2 mark at the position.
In doubles play, the Tigers’ tandem comprised of freshman Sebastian Rutka and Kiernan will head into the NCAA Tournament as the 31st-ranked team in the nation. The combination is 19-5 on the season and owns a 10-3 record on court No. 1.
The LSU tennis team will next be in action on May 12, as the Tigers begin play in the NCAA Tournament. LSU’s first-round opponent and the site of the regional will be announced by the NCAA on May 3 at 3 p.m.