BATON ROUGE — The No. 20-ranked LSU men’s tennis team hopes to keep its undefeated season alive when it host No. 2 Ohio State Saturday at 11 a.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
This match will be part of a United States Tennis Association League Day put on by the LSU marketing department. Fans are encouraged to get to the courts early to receive free LSU tennis trading cards. Tennis t-shirts will be thrown to the fans during the break between singles and doubles.
Fans will also be allowed to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win autographed merchandise as well as a tennis ball signed by tennis pros Pete Sampras and Todd Martin, and actors Wes Brown and Scott Foley who participated in this past October’s “Duel Under the Oaks” charity event held on LSU’s campus.
“This is exactly what we need heading into conference play,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “The match and promotions should make for an excellent environment for the fans.”
LSU (5-0) is coming off back-to-back victories against ranked opponents. The Tigers defeated No. 62 UL-Lafayette, 7-0, on Saturday and had a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 35 Rice.
Under head coach Ty Tucker, the Buckeyes opened the season with 10-consecutive wins before falling to Georgia, 4-0, in the finals the ITA Team Indoor Championships in Chicago last weekend.
Ohio State (10-1) won the last meeting between the two teams, 6-1, in Columbus last season.
Senior Ken Skupski leads the Tigers in the battle against the Buckeyes. With a win on Saturday, The two-time All-American would take sole possession of 8th place on LSU’s all-time career singles wins list with 94.
Junior Kevin Dessauer continues to be a key contributor for the Tigers. After playing at the sixth or seventh spot in last season’s singles rotation, the New Orleans native has played among the top four spots this season and has compiled a 5-0 record in dual play.
The Tigers have continued their tradition of superb doubles play. Skupski and partner James Cluskey are ranked No. 6 in the nation and lead the Tigers with 11 wins this season. The No. 25-ranked duo of Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston has won 19-straight matches dating back to last season.
“We take a lot of pride in our doubles play,” Brown commented. “Our team understands the importance of momentum and doubles is the first chance you have to get momentum. We are capable of winning without the doubles point, but it makes it easier when you only have the spilt the singles matches to get the victory.”