BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU men’s tennis team (11-1, 2-0 SEC) will play a match away from W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium for the first time since Jan. 25 when they face South Carolina (8-7, 0-2 SEC) on Friday in Columbia, S.C. at 4 p.m. CST. The Tigers will then travel to Athens on Sunday to face No. 4 Georgia (9-2, 2-0 SEC).
The Tigers are off to their best start in since 1998 and are the sixth team in LSU history to be 11-1 through 12 matches. The 1998 team, coached by current head coach Jeff Brown, was also the last team to start 2-0 in SEC play.
“You want to get yourself in a good position early on to promote a positive attitude,” Brown said. “Starting well means that we need to keep it going as we play more matches.”
If history is any indication, the Tigers should do just that. Of the five other teams that started 11-1, two finished the season ranked in the top two and not a single one ended the year ranked lower than No. 14.
Brown’s 1998 team was especially successful, winning the SEC championship, taking the SEC tournament and finishing the season ranked No. 2. Brown said after this year’s fast start, the sky is the limit.
“This team has that sort of potential,” Brown said. “It was big for us to take care of business at home early on.”
The last road contest for LSU was also the only time the Tigers lost all season. Brown said the team cannot be worried about the venue and must come ready to play regardless of the setting.
“Ultimately it comes down to how well you play,” Brown said. “It is easier to get into a rhythm at home and we plan on carrying what we have built with us on the road.”
Both opponents provide strong competition for LSU who hopes to extend their current eight-match winning streak. The last time the Tigers won eight in a row was the 2000 season.
With wins this weekend, the Tigers would move to 10 consecutive victories, bringing them within eight matches of the longest streak of all time, set by the 1988 and 1998 teams. A win on Friday would also secure the first 12-1 start since 1998.
“Certainly these guys are familiar with each other,” Brown said of the Gamecocks and the Bulldogs. “We cannot look ahead. We are going to play a lot of good teams. We really take it one match at a time and we will be focused on who we are playing.”
For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @lsutennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.