OXFORD, Miss. — The 18th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will face the Arkansas Razorbacks for the second time in six days on Thursday as the Tigers begin competition at the 2003 Southeastern Conference Tournament held in Oxford, Miss., at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
“It’s always tough to beat a team the second time that you play them,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “The losing team always has the chance to make changes to what they did the first time, and they also know what aspects of their game that they need to work on. We just need to focus on our game in continuing to play the way that we are capable of playing.”
LSU heads into the four-day competition as the fifth-seeded team in the tournament after posting a 12-9 overall record on the season and a 5-6 mark in SEC play.
The Tigers finished the regular season as the second-place team in the Western Division by narrowly beating out Auburn for the No. 2 position. LSU and Auburn both finished with identical 5-6 SEC records, but the Tigers downed Auburn, 6-1, in the regular-season matchup. Ole Miss earned its second straight Western Division title with a 9-2 record.
In LSU’s conference finale on Saturday, the Tigers blanked Arkansas, 7-0, at home at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium. The shutout victory proved to be LSU’s first against an SEC opponent since the 2000 season and marked LSU’s biggest margin of victory over the Razorbacks since an identical 7-0 win in 1999.
Arkansas enters Thursday’s first-round matchup with an overall record of 9-13 on the season and a 2-9 mark against conference opponents. Despite finishing last in the SEC and receiving the 12th seed in this weekend’s tournament, Arkansas is the 28th-ranked team in the nation and has posted wins over two top-20 ranked opponents.
The Razorbacks, who are currently in the midst of a six-match losing streak, registered wins over both Vanderbilt and Alabama this season. During SEC competition, Arkansas knocked off eighth-ranked Vanderbilt, 4-3, and the 14th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 4-3, at the UA Outdoor Tennis Courts in Fayetteville, Ark.
“Like I said before the first time that we played them, Arkansas has a lot of talent and they always play with enthusiasm,” Brown said. “They always seem to play us tough and when you’re playing a match at 8 o’clock in the morning, you’re going to need some enthusiasm. Hopefully our guys will be able to come out and play with some enthusiasm of their own on Thursday.”
LSU has not been defeated by the Razorbacks since a 7-2 loss during the 1986 season. Since then, the Tigers have reeled off 13-consecutive victories and have taken a commanding 15-3 lead in the all-time series.
The 18th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will meet the Arkansas Razorbacks in an SEC Tournament for the first time since the conference adopted the postseason format in 1990 on Thursday at 8 a.m. in Oxford, Miss.
LSU Men’s Tennis
SEC Tournament History
Tournament Record: 16-11
2002
First Round: (11) LSU def. (6) Alabama, 4-2
Quarterfinal: (2) Auburn def. (11) LSU, 4-0
2001
Quarterfinal: (6) Alabama def. (3) LSU, 4-3
2000
Quarterfinal: (5) Georgia def. (4) LSU, 4-1
1999 (Tournament Champions)
Quarterfinal: (4) LSU def. (5) Tennessee, 4-1
Semifinal: (4) LSU def. (8) South Carolina, 4-1
Final: (4) LSU def. (3) Georgia, 4-3
1998 (Tournament Champions)
Quarterfinal: (1) LSU def. (9) Auburn, 4-1
Semifinal: (1) LSU def. (4) Ole Miss, 4-1
Final: (1) LSU def. (2) Georgia, 4-3
1997
Quarterfinal: (4) LSU def. (5) Kentucky, 4-0
Semifinal: (1) Georgia def. (4) LSU, 4-2
1996
Quarterfinal: (3) LSU def. (6) Auburn, 4-1
Semifinal: (2) Georgia def. (3) LSU, 4-1
1995 (Tournament Runner-Up)
Quarterfinal: (2) LSU def. (10) Auburn, 4-1
Semifinal: (2) LSU def. (3) Mississippi State, 4-3
Final: (1) Georgia def. (2) LSU, 4-0
1994
First Round: (9) LSU def. (8) South Carolina, 4-2
Quarterfinal: (1) Florida def. (9) LSU, 4-3
1993
Quarterfinal: (6) Tennessee def. (3) LSU, 4-3
1992 (Tournament Runner-Up)
Quarterfinal: (4) LSU def. (5) Florida, 5-2
Semifinal: (4) LSU def. (1) Georgia, 5-1
Final: (2) Kentucky def. (4) LSU, 5-2
1991
Quarterfinal: (2) LSU def. (7) Ole Miss, 5-3
Semifinal: (6) Mississippi State def. (2) LSU, 5-3
1990
Quarterfinal: (3) LSU def. (6) Florida, 6-0
Semifinal: (2) Georgia def. (3) LSU, 5-2