BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will kick off Southeastern Conference competition Friday in a 3 p.m. CST matchup with the 41st-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
“The way we see it, this is the beginning of a new season for us,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “Our preparation for the SEC season has been excellent. We’ve faced some difficult challenges, and I believe it prepared us for what is ahead. The team looks forward to starting conference play on our home courts and getting off to a good start.”
LSU (2-5) heads into Friday’s match after falling to No. 17 Texas A&M by a close 5-2 mark on Feb. 28. Sophomore Neal Skupski paves the way for the Tigers in the rankings, and on the court. Skupski jumped six spots to No. 44 the ITA rankings posted on March 2, and the Liverpool, England, native owns an 11-10 overall record.
South Carolina (6-2) comes into the “Dub” riding a four-match win streak with its most recent victory over Appalachian State, 5-2. Senior Diego Cubas leads the Gamecocks at No. 65 in the national rankings and lists a 13-6 overall record. Cubas teams up with sophomore Ivan Machado to comprise the No. 45 duo in the country with an 11-6 record.
The Tigers hold a 23-7 advantage over the Gamecocks in the all-time record. In 2009, LSU recorded two wins against South Carolina. During the regular season, then 34th-ranked LSU notched its biggest victory of the season against No. 17 South Carolina 5-1 in Columbia, S.C. The two teams next squared off in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, and the Tigers took the match 4-2 before the team fell to eventual tournament champion Ole Miss.
The conference match will be one of two slated for the weekend on the courts of the “Dub”. The Tigers’ second SEC match will take place Sunday when LSU will take on top-10 Florida at 1 p.m.
March 5, 2010
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
#73 LSU vs. #41 South Carolina, 3 p.m.
Tennis Begins 'New Season' with SEC Play