LEXINGTON, Ky. — Eight members of the LSU men’s tennis team will compete in the 2009 Southeastern Conference Coaches’ Indoor Championships beginning Friday, Jan. 16 hosted by the University of Kentucky.
“The SEC Coaches’ Indoor will be a step toward getting us match-sharp after a month off,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “This is the strongest tournament we could be in right now with the strength of the SEC and this along with the Auburn tournament should get us ready for the dual season.”
All 12 teams in the SEC are ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, with Georgia (No. 3), Tennessee (No. 8), Ole Miss (No. 9), Florida (No. 10) and LSU (No. 19) debuting in the top 20.
Mark Bowtell, Sebastian Carlsson, James Cluskey, Julien Gauthier, David Roberts, Neal Skupski, Jonathan Tragardh and Michael Venus will open play in the tournament to mark the first matches of the year for the Tigers.
Venus, ranked No. 2 in the country by the ITA, holds the top singles seed in the tournament and will receive a first-round bye. In addition to the first-round singles bye, Venus and doubles partner Skupski earned a bye as the No. 3 doubles seed.
The Tigers will kick off the tournament with first-round doubles competition at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex starting at 8 a.m., followed by first-round singles matches beginning at noon at the Lexington Tennis Club.
SEC Coaches’ Indoor Championships
January 16-19
Lexington, Ky.
All Times Central
Jan. 16
Round 1 Doubles
Carlsson/Tragardh (LSU) vs. Beck/Lambropoulos (UK), 8 a.m.
Bowtell/Roberts (LSU) vs. Cant/Stump (MSU), 8 a.m.
Cluskey/Gauthier (LSU) vs. Thiemann/Thiemann (UM), 9:30 a.m.
Round 2 Doubles
3 Venus/Skupski (LSU) vs. TBA, 4:30 p.m.
Singles Round of 64
Neal Skupski (LSU) vs. Antoine Benneteau (UF), 12:30 p.m.
Julien Gauthier (LSU) vs. Alex Lambropoulos (UK), 12:30 p.m.
Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) vs. Antonio Lastre (MSU), 12:30 p.m.
Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) vs. Brad Cox (UK), 12:30 p.m.
Mark Bowtell (LSU) vs. Dan Sanchez (MSU), 1:30 p.m.
16 James Cluskey (LSU) vs. Marcel Thiemann (UM), 1:30 p.m.
David Roberts (LSU) vs. Michael Thompson (UA), 2 p.m.
Singles Round of 32
1 Michael Venus (LSU) vs. TBA, Noon