ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 12-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will begin its postseason play Thursday against Auburn in the SEC Tournament at 8 a.m. CST at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Tigers (18-7, 5-6) are riding a five-match winning streak into the tournament. They finished their regular season last week with wins over No. 18 Tulane and Arkansas.
LSU beat a hobbled Auburn squad two weeks ago in Baton Rouge, 6-1. But LSU coach Jeff Brown expects a bigger challenge this time.
“Auburn is an extremely good team,” Brown said. “If they are healthy, they could give us as good a match as any team we’ve faced.”
Auburn’s lineup includes No. 47-ranked Gabor Zoltan Pelva, and the 16th-ranked doubles team of Pelva and Alex Schweizer.
LSU’s recent success has come in part because of its doubles game. The Tigers have not lost a doubles point in their last ten matches.
LSU’s All-SEC selections Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski lead the Tigers’ doubles charge in the No. 1 position. Skupski and Growcott went 9-2 in conference play, earning the best record of any No. 1 doubles team in the league.
Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston are undefeated in dual matches, and LSU’s third position team of Jason Hazley and Peter Richman have won five matches in a row.
In singles, the bottom half of LSU’s lineup has been the deciding factor in their recent wins. Richman has won five matches in a row playing on courts three and four. Gaston has also won five in a row on court six. Bryan has won his last four on court five.
After rebounding from a slow start in SEC play, the Tigers are ready for a postseason run.
“Tournament time is a fun time of year,” Brown said. “Teams can sometimes come together at that time, ad it looks like this team is doing that.”
LSU has already matched its win total from last season before beginning postseason play.
LSU leads the series with Auburn, 29-9. They have won their last three matches against Auburn.
If the Tigers win, they face third-ranked and first-seeded Ole Miss on Friday.