BATON ROUGE — The No. 13-ranked LSU men’s tennis team looks to keep its hopes alive for the Southeastern Conference Western Division title Friday when it battles division rival No. 12-ranked Alabama at 4 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Heading into Friday’s match, The Tigers (13-4, 5-3 SEC) are two wins behind the division-leading Ole Miss Rebels. To win the division, LSU needs to win its final three matches and hope that Ole Miss falls in their remaining three matches.
The Tide (15-5, 5-3 SEC) hold the same conference record as the Tigers, but the Tigers are ahead of the Tide because of their overall record.
“With only three matches remaining, every match is crucial,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “Alabama is a talented team and we will have to play strong throughout the match to get the win.”
The Tigers split their matches this past weekend. On Friday, LSU fell to Ole Miss, 4-3, and defeated Mississippi State, 6-1, on Sunday.
The Tide defeated the Florida Gators on Friday, 5-2, and breezed past the South Carolina Gamecocks, 6-1, on Sunday. Head coach Billy Pate is in his fifth season in leading the Tide.
LSU leads the all-time series against Alabama with a 37-21-1 record. The Tigers won last season’s meeting in Tuscaloosa, 4-3.
Alabama represents two singles players and one doubles team in the latest national rankings. Senior Joseph Jung (No. 82) and Billy Mertz (No. 86) are listed in singles rakings and the duo of Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau (No. 26) are listed in doubles rankings.
LSU’s senior Ken Skupski will be eyeing for his 100th career singles victory Friday. The Liverpool, England native is currently tied with former Tiger Mario Pacheco for 5th place on LSU’s career singles wins list. With a win on Friday, Skupski would tie head coach Brown for 4th place.
LSU’s other co-captain, Danny Bryan, is also moving up the singles wins list. The New Orleans native has compiled 80 wins during his career, which places him tied for 19th place with former Tiger Jose Leon. With a win on Friday, Bryan would tie former Tiger Jason Noonan for 18th place.
Bryan and Colt Gaston have been near-perfect in doubles play. The No. 5-ranked pair has won 29 of their last 30 matches and is on an eight-match win streak.
After Friday’s match, the Tigers only have two matches remaining in the regular season. The Tigers will host Auburn Sunday at 1 p.m. and host Arkansas in the season finale on April 14th. The Tigers will stay at home after the regular season as they host the SEC Tournament.