BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will play its first non-conference opponent in more than a month on Thursday, as the Tigers host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 2 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“We’re looking at this match as the beginning of a second season for us,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We’re looking to see all of the things that we gained from playing such a tough schedule and how we benefit by playing in the SEC and against top-25 teams almost every match.”
The LSU men’s tennis team heads into Thursday’s match with an overall record of 3-8 on the season after facing eight-consecutive opponents ranked among the nation’s top 25, including six from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC continues to be the strongest conference in the nation as eight of the league’s 12 teams are ranked in the top 25 and four are among the top 10.
In their last six contests, the Tigers were edged out in SEC battles against No. 1 Georgia, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 18 Florida, No. 18 Auburn, No. 22 Alabama and 23rd-ranked South Carolina.
LSU will face its sixth non-conference opponent of the season on Thursday, as Southern Miss makes the trip to Baton Rouge for the seventh year in a row. Last season, the Tigers dropped Southern Miss, 6-1, to earn a 17-0 all-time record against the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss comes into Thursday’s non-conference matchup with a 3-6 overall record on the season. In their last match, the Golden Eagles were defeated by Ball State, 5-2, at the UNLV Classic Tournament. Southern Miss’ three wins this season have come against Southern, 6-1, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 5-2, and North Carolina State, 4-3.
The Tigers will be led on Thursday by senior Dan Kiernan. Kiernan, a native of Newcastle, England, is the 87th-ranked player in the nation and has accumulated an overall record of 12-11 on the season. Last Friday, Kiernan defeated the 12th-ranked Mario Toledo, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, during an SEC duel against Tennessee.
The LSU men’s tennis team will look to put an eight-match losing streak behind them on Thursday, as the Tigers host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 2 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. Admission is free to all LSU home tennis matches.