BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team is set to host its third doubleheader of the 2003 dual-match season on Sunday as the Tigers welcome both Southern Miss and Southeastern Louisiana to the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium beginning at 1 p.m.
“Our team has been working very hard in practice and these matches are good for us to gain some more experience before the beginning of SEC play,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We’re really trying to reach a high level of play and tomorrow were going to work on some things and see what improvements need to be made.”
LSU heads into Sunday’s non-conference competition with an overall record of 4-0 on the season after notching decisive wins against Centenary, Texas-San Antonio and Southern twice. The Tigers have played dominating tennis during the 2003 campaign and have only relinquished one point en route to outscoring their opponents 26-1.
Last week, LSU defeated Texas-San Antonio, 6-1, and breezed by Southern, 6-0. With their second victory over the Jaguars, the Tigers upped their winning streak against in-state opponents to 75 straight matches. The LSU men’s tennis team has not been beaten by a Louisiana rival since Tulane dropped them, 7-2, in the final match of the 1973 season.
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles come to Baton Rouge with a 1-2 overall record on the season after picking up a 6-1 victory over Southern on Feb. 1.
With the win, Southern Miss put a halt to a two-match losing streak and was victorious on every court except the No. 6 singles contest. The Golden Eagles lost their first two matches of the season against Southeastern Conference opponents in Alabama, 7-0, and Mississippi State, 6-1.
“Southern Miss brings a lot of international experience to the table,” Brown said. “A lot of their players are from different countries and they have a lot of talent. Our guys will need to be ready for tomorrow’s match and everybody is going to have to be prepared to play.”
Southeastern Louisiana enters Sunday’s matchup with a 3-2 dual record. On Wednesday, the Lions knocked off Alcorn State, 6-1, on the road in Lorman, Miss.
The LSU men’s tennis team will look to improve to a perfect 6-0 record on Sunday as the Tigers host both Southern Miss and Southeastern Louisiana beginning at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. Admission is free to all LSU home tennis matches.