BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s tennis team will square off against Southeastern Conference heavyweight Florida when the No. 7 team rolls into W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium Sunday for a 1 p.m. CST matchup.
“Florida is one of the most talented, albeit young lineups in the nation,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “They are one of the teams that will challenge for a Final Four spot, and we are looking forward to the challenge they will bring.”
LSU (3-5) rolled to its first conference win over 41st-ranked South Carolina 5-2 on March 5. After losing the early point, LSU rallied in singles to produce wins on five courts and take the match.
Florida (9-2) swept Arkansas 7-0 in its SEC-opener in Fayetteville, Ark. The team’s two losses stem from matches against Baylor (5-2) and Ohio State (4-3).
Both teams feature nationally-ranked players. LSU is led by 44th-ranked Neal Skupski. Florida features Alexandre Lacroix (No. 6) and Antoine Bennetau (No. 121). Lacroix and Bennetau team up to make the No. 16 pair, and Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt check-in as the No. 43 duo.
LSU leads Florida 26-23 in the all-time record. The Gators took the last meeting between the two teams 5-2 in 2009 with the Tigers on the road, but LSU claimed the last meeting between the two in Baton Rouge when the then 19th-ranked Tigers toppled the 8th-ranked Gators 4-3 on LSU’s 2008 Senior Day.
Admission to all home tennis matches is free. After the LSU-Florida matchup, the Tigers will play South Florida at home on March 9 before taking a brief hiatus from the courts of the “Dub” when the team travels to take on Mississippi State and Ole Miss on March 12 and March 14, respectively.
March 7, 2010
#73 LSU vs. #7 Florida, 1 p.m.
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Men's Tennis to Host No. 7 Florida