COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 34th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team travels to Columbia, S.C. for its second Southeastern Conference match of the weekend to face the 17th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in a noon match on Sunday at the Sam Daniels Tennis Center.
The Tigers lead the all-time series between the two teams with an impressive 20-7 record and defeated the Gamecocks last season in Baton Rouge by a 6-1 mark.
LSU (6-9, 1-6 SEC) is fresh off of a match against No. 10 Florida where the Tigers fell to the top 10 team in Gainesville, 5-2. Both senior Michael Venus, No. 6 in the nation, and freshman Neal Skupski notched victories on the singles courts, with each extending his respective win streak. Venus marked his fifth-straight victory over a nationally-ranked opponent in No. 27 Carlos Cueto, 6-4, 6-2, and freshman Neal Skupski won his fourth match in a row against Joey Burkhardt, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
LSU’s sixth-ranked Venus will lead the rankings on the singles courts in the contest against South Carolina. The LSU senior owns a 9-5 dual season record and is 14-6 against nationally-ranked opponents.
South Carolina (15-5, 3-4 SEC) is lead in the singles rankings by No. 52 Diego Cubas with a 9-8 dual season record. Falling just outside the top 100, both No. 106 Ramiro Blanco and No. 123 Ivan Cressoni also represent South Carolina in the rankings.
Although each has a talented singles lineup, the doubles point could prove to be the deciding factor in the match as South Carolina has won all 15 matches in which it earned the doubles point.
Each team has a nationally-ranked duo with LSU holding the highest ranked as Venus and Skupski post at No. 8 with a 8-7 record. South Carolina features No. 28 Cubas and Ivan Machado, 11-6 in the dual season.
“We are going to have to start the match with momentum from doubles,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “South Carolina is having one of their best seasons, and is playing with a lot of enthusiasm. They are going to be tough at home.”
The match at the Sam Daniels Tennis Center will be the last SEC match on the road for LSU as the Tigers return home for their final three conference matches, beginning April 10 with Ole Miss at 1 p.m.