OXFORD, Miss. — The top two teams in the Southeastern Conference Western Division will square off Friday at 2 p.m. when the No.13-ranked LSU men’s tennis team travels to face the No.10-ranked Ole Miss Rebels at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
The Tigers (12-3, 4-2 SEC) trail the Rebels (16-2, 5-1 SEC) by one win in division standings.
LSU split its two matches this past weekend as they shutout South Carolina, 4-0, on Friday and fell to Florida, 4-3, on Sunday.
“One of the goals we set before the season was to win the division and we have to go through Ole Miss to reach that goal,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said “Both teams have similar personnel from last year and hopefully we can pull off the win.”
The win won’t come easy for the Tigers as the Rebels have amassed an outstanding 10-0 record at home this season. Additionally, the Rebels have won 42 of their last 43 matches on their hardcourts.
The match will mark the fourth time that the Tigers have faced a top-10 team this season, going 1-2 in the first three. Nine out of LSU’s 12 victories this season have come against opponents ranked in the top 60.
The Tigers hope to jump ahead early against the Rebels behind their strong doubles teams. Two Tiger tandems are ranked in the top 15. Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston, ranked No. 5, have been the team’s most dominant pair by winning 27 of their last 28 matches and are 16-1 this season. The No.14-ranked duo of James Cluskey and Ken Skupski has also shined on the doubles court where they have won 15 matches this season.
Bryan has performed well in singles where he leads the team with 21 victories this season. The LSU Male Athlete of the Week picked up two wins against ranked opponents last week, including the biggest win of his career against the No. 12-ranked Ryan Rowe of Illinois. Bryan is currently ranked No. 44.With a win Friday, the New Orleans native would be tied with former Tiger Jose’ Leon for 19th place on LSU’s career singles wins list.
LSU’s over co-captain, Skupski, is also moving up in the LSU record books. The two-time All-American is one win away from tying former Tiger Mario Pachecho for 5th place on the career win list with 99. Skupski is currently ranked No. 24.
Ole Miss represents four singles players and two doubles teams in individual rankings. Leading the way in singles is No. 15 Erling Tveit.
The Tigers own a commanding lead in the all-time series with a 43-10 record against the Rebels. The Tigers won last season’s meeting, 4-3, in Baton Rouge.
LSU will remain in Mississippi following Friday’s match as they are set to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs Sunday at 1 p.m.