COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 10-ranked LSU men’s tennis team will try to capture its fifth-straight win Friday at 1 p.m. when they travel to face the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Sam Daniel Tennis Facility.
The Tigers (11-2, 3-1 SEC) are coming off a thrilling upset, 4-3, over the No. 6-ranked Illini of Illinois in their last non-conference match of the regular season. The Tigers face a tough return to conference play as their next four matches will be on the road.
“On the road in the SEC is a tough place to be. We were able to win at Tennessee and even though we had a difficult time at Georgia, we still played well at certain spots,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “Texas A&M was also a good road match for us. We just have to build on the positives and make any changes that are necessary.”
Under head coach Kent DeMars, the Gamecocks are 10-6 this season, including 1-3 in the SEC. The Gamecocks ended a three-match skid by defeating UNLV, 4-3, in their last match.The Tigers lead the all-time series 19-7 and swept the Gamecocks last season, 7-0, in Baton Rouge.
James Cluskey has been “Mr. Clutch” for LSU as he has clinched the last two matches for the Tigers against Texas A&M on Saturday and Illinois on Tuesday. The LSU Male Athlete of the Week is on a five-match winning streak.
Senior Danny Bryan also played a key role in the Tigers upset against the No. 6-ranked Illini. The New Orleans native claimed the biggest win of his career in singles by knocking off No. 12-ranked Ryan Rowe of Illinois. Additionally, Bryan picked up the 100th doubles win of his career as he and partner Colt Gaston defeated GD Jones and Marc Spicijaric of Illinois, 8-5.
After traveling to South Carolina, the Tigers will travel to No. 25 Florida on Sunday for a noon match.