ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 11-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will hit the road for the first time in 2006 season when it takes on the 42nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Friday at the Varsity Tennis Center at 5 p.m. CT.
The Tigers are 4-0 thus for, but Michigan will be the stiffest test the team has seen thus far. The Wolverines are 4-1 after a week that saw them beat No. 40 Rice 4-2 and suffer a tough 6-1 loss to sixth-ranked Virginia.
“Michigan is coming off of a match against Virginia where they won the doubles and played some close singles matches,” said LSU head coach Jeff Brown. “We have a lot of respect for this team and they’re not going to sneak up on us.”
LSU’s No. 66-ranked Ken Skupski will put his 13 match-winning streak on the line against Michigan’s No. 1 singles player, 58th-ranked Matko Maravic.
No. 2 singles player Mark Growcott will look to rebound after an upset loss against Nicholls St. on Feb. 1.
Led by 10th-ranked Skupski and Growcott and 24th-ranked Danny Bryan and Colt Gatson, the Tigers are undefeated in doubles play and will look to take the early advantage again Friday.
“We’re excited to play up there,” said Brown. “It’s a tough environment play in and it ought to be a great match.”
The Tigers will follow up Friday’s contest with a match against No. 15 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.