BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will open the dual season this Friday at 2 p.m. when they battle Southern at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Due to the re-surfacing of LSU’s home courts, this Friday’s season opener against Southern and Saturday’s match against Centenary will be held on the near by LSU practice courts. Sunday’s match against Southern Miss will be played at the Paula G. Manship YMCA located at 8100 Plaza Dr. in Baton Rouge.
“We are ready to go. This is the latest we have started the dual season in a while,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “It has allowed us to have some great practices. I am happy about that, but our guys are ready to compete.”
Southern (0-2), of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, has been off since they fell by a 7-0 count against Southern Miss on Jan. 29.
The Tigers are led by senior captain Ken Skupski. The two-time All-American has claimed 90 singles victories in his career, which makes him tied for 10th, along with former Tigers Carlos Homodes and Drew Meyers, in school history. Skupski entered this season with a new doubles partner, James Cluskey, and the duo has gotten off to a fantastic start. They have compiled a 7-3 record as a doubles team and reached two ITA semifinals in the fall. The Tiger tandem’s early success was recognized in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association individual rankings as they were listed as the No. 3 doubles team in the nation.
The team’s other captain, Danny Bryan, has also led by example this season. The New Orleans native leads the team in singles victories with 12. In doubles, Bryan teamed up with Colt Gaston to win the doubles title at the SEC Indoor Championships in January. The duo has won 15-straight matches dating back to last season.
This will be the 16th meeting between LSU and Southern. The Tigers have dominated the series as they have never lost to the Jaguars. LSU defeated Southern last season, 7-0.