BATON ROUGE — The 28th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team is set to kick off the NCAA Tournament hosting No. 34 Rice at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium on Friday at 1 p.m. CDT.
LSU ended the regular season with a 10-11 record, earning eight of its victories over nationally-ranked opponents.
Most recently, the Tigers competed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded LSU knocked off ninth-seeded South Carolina, 4-2, to begin tournament competition. After advancing over the Gamecocks, LSU fell to top-seeded and second-ranked Ole Miss, 4-2, in the second round.
“This season we have made continual progress and have also made great strides following the SEC Tournament,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We are looking forward to competing against a very good Rice team. Having gone 4-3 with them earlier in the season, we expect a great match and know that is what we will get.”
Rice (17-10) leads LSU in the all-time series with a 16-10-2 mark, but it was the Tigers that claimed victory in the regular season meeting between the two teams. LSU defeated Rice on Feb. 7 in Baton Rouge by 4-3 mark for the Tigers’ 2009 home opener.
The Owls hold two nationally-ranked singles players and are led in the rankings by sophomore Bruno Rosa at No. 46 with a 13-11 record. Junior Christoph M?ller posts at No. 51 with a 16-6 mark in singles and also at No. 55 in doubles with partner Tobias Schiel. The 55th-ranked duo posts 15-9 on the season.
LSU senior Michael Venus leads the Tigers on the court and in the rankings with a team-best 13 dual wins as the No. 7 player in the nation. Venus also posts in the doubles rankings as part of the No. 2 tandem with freshman partner Neal Skupski with a 13-7 record.
Should LSU advance past Rice, it will take on the winner of the Alcorn State-Ole Miss match on Saturday, May 9 at
1 p.m.
The Tigers hold a 27-25 all-time series record in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the event 25 times, second in the SEC to Georgia (30). Brown has brought LSU to the tournament each of his 12 seasons at the helm and reached the finals in his first two years as coach in 1998 and 1999.
In last year’s tournament, LSU knocked off previously undefeated Drake with a 4-1 mark in the first round. Advancing to take on No. 15 Illinois, LSU swept its second-round opponent in doubles to give the Tigers the early point. Illinois fought back through singles and posted a 4-2 mark to end the Tigers’ NCAA run.
Men's Tennis Hosts NCAA First Round on Friday