BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team slid one spot to No. 35 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings released on Thursday by the ITA.
LSU (0-3) slipped in the rankings after a brief break in competition. The Tigers’ last matchup was against nationally-ranked Rice on Feb. 5, and the team returns to action on Saturday against Virginia in noon matchup on the Boyd Tinsley Courts in Charlottesville, Va.
LSU’s sophomore standout Neal Skupski, who is 3-2 against nationally-ranked opponents, remained in the singles rankings and posted at No. 50. The Liverpool, England, native is 10-8 in overall singles competition, and is an asset in doubles as well with a 6-7 record.
The Southeastern Conference made a strong stand in the rankings with each of the 12 teams earning a ranking and four in the top 10. Tennessee led the way at No. 2, Florida posted at No. 7, Kentucky listed at No. 9 and Georgia checked in at No. 10. Ole Miss listed just outside the top-10 teams at No. 12.
Alabama earned a No. 20 billing and Auburn No. 28. Four teams checked in behind the Tigers with Vanderbilt at No. 42, South Carolina at No. 45 and Arkansas and Mississippi State rounded out the list at No. 51 and No. 58, respectively.
Men’s National Team Rankings
Administered by the ITA
NCAA Division I Tennis
February 18, 2010
Rank. Team.
1. Virginia.
2. Tennessee.
3. Ohio State.
4. Texas.
5. USC.
6. UCLA.
7. Florida.
8. Stanford.
9. Kentucky.
10. Georgia.
11. Louisville.
12. Mississippi.
13. Baylor.
14. Illinois.
15. Pepperdine.
16. Wake Forest.
17. Texas A&M.
18. Florida State.
19. Virginia Tech.
20. Alabama.
21. Duke.
22. North Carolina.
23. Rice.
24. Arizona.
25. Washington.
26. Wisconsin.
27. California.
28. Auburn.
29. Boise State.
30. Fresno St.
31. Miami.
32. Oklahoma State.
33. Tulsa.
34. Michigan.
35. LSU.
Tennis' Skupski Ranked No. 50 in Nation