BATON ROUGE — The 20th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will attempt to defend its home court on Sunday as the Tigers host the 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“We’re looking forward to playing another top SEC team at home and it’s a good opportunity for us to get a big win,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “It’s matches like these that gets our players pumped up to play in front of the home crowd and it should definitely be a well-played collegiate tennis match.”
LSU heads into Sunday’s Southeastern Conference matchup with an overall record of 9-6 on the season and a 2-5 mark against conference foes.
All six of the Tigers’ losses during the 2003 campaign have come against opponents currently ranked among the nation’s top 20. LSU has dropped hard-fought contests versus No. 2 Florida, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 16 Alabama, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 19 Georgia, and the eighth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday.
Kentucky comes to Baton Rouge with a 15-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark against SEC opponents. The Wildcats are currently in the midst of a four-match winning streak after defeating Mississippi State, 4-3, last week and by recording shutouts against Eastern Kentucky, 5-0, Wright State, 5-0, and the 26th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, 7-0.
“Kentucky has a very strong team this season,” Brown said. “They are just coming off of a big win over Arkansas on the road and that shows just how strong they are. We’re not intimated by them right now, but I’d have to say that we are respectful of their talent.”
LSU will be led in Sunday’s match by its 14th-ranked doubles team comprised of sophomore Jason Hazley and junior Bryan Fisher. The Tigers’ pair owns a 17-8 overall record on the season and has accumulated an 8-6 mark in dual play.
In the singles competition, LSU’s 38th-ranked Peter Richman will lead the way for the Tigers against three nationally recognized Kentucky players. The Wildcats’ Jesse Witten is the 13th-ranked singles player in the nation, while Kentucky also boasts the No. 65 and No. 113 players in Karim Benmansour and Rahim Esmail, respectively.
Last season, Kentucky defeated the Tigers by a score of 4-2 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky. Despite the loss, LSU holds a significant 27-7 lead in the all-time series between the two SEC schools.
The 20th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will attempt to defeat its highest-ranked opponent of the 2003 dual-match season on Sunday as the Tigers face off with the 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 1 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Admission is free to all LSU home tennis matches and refreshments will be provided by the Tiger Tennis Athletic Foundation.