BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will compete in its second doubleheader of the 2003 dual-match season on Saturday as the Tigers host Texas-San Antonio at 4 p.m. and Southern at 7 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“We have to come out and be ready to play tomorrow,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “There is no exhibition season in tennis and every team that you play presents a challenge. Our team did a great job of taking care of business last week and we need to make sure that we’re playing well tomorrow against both Texas-San Antonio and Southern.”
LSU heads into Saturday’s competition with a 2-0 overall record on the season after blanking both Centenary and Southern, 7-0, on Jan. 25. With the two shutout victories, the Tigers earned a perfect 2-0 record to begin a season for the 18th-consecutive year.
The last time that the LSU men’s tennis team did not open a dual-match season with at least a 2-0 record was in 1984 when LSU fell to Georgia, 5-4, in its second match. The Tigers ended up finishing the season as the 12th-ranked team in the nation.
LSU has never been defeated by either Southern and Texas-San Antonio. In 10 matches against their cross-town rival, the Tigers have reeled off 10-straight victories and have never relinquished a point. LSU has only faced Texas-San Antonio one time prior to this season in dual competition.
In 1991, the Tigers defeated the Roadrunners, 5-1, on their way to a final national ranking of No. 6.
The Tigers currently own a 74-match winning streak against in-state opponents and have not been beaten by a Louisiana rival since Tulane dropped them, 7-2, in the final match of the 1973 season. LSU is already 2-0 against in-state opponents during the 2003 dual-match season.
The LSU men’s tennis team will host both Texas-San Antonio and Southern in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. Admission is free to all LSU home tennis matches.