BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU (8-6, 1-3 SEC), ranked No. 48 in the nation, returns home following two road losses to SEC opponents to face the No. 43 Alabama (11-7, 2-2 SEC) at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The Tigers took a loss against No. 22 Ole Miss last Friday 4-1, followed by a 5-2 defeat to No. 32 Arkansas the following Sunday.
“They were good teams,” Head Coach Jeff Brown said. “It’s not that we weren’t capable of winning those matches but it’s to the point where we’ve played a pretty tough schedule and we have to play exceptionally well in order to get through, especially on the road.”
LSU is 7-1 on their home courts this season, only taking a loss against No. 25 Florida.
The Tigers continue to have two ranked singles players in No. 102 Jordan Daigle and No. 106 Gabor Csonka. LSU also boast a top 10 doubles tandem in Daigle and partner Boris Arias at No. 8.
The Crimson Tide went 1-1 in their SEC competitions last weekend, taking a 2-1 win over Tennessee and a 4-3 loss to Kentucky, along with picking up a nonconference win over The Citadel. Alabama has two ranked singles competitors in No. 62 Mazen Osama and No. 81 Korey Lovett who also make up the Tide’s No. 42 pair. In their last meeting, the Tigers edged the Crimson Tide 4-3 at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Friday’s match will feature free pizza for fans to enjoy while watching the competition. The match, contingent on weather, has the possibility to be played inside.
“We have to play where we play,” Brown said. “We are fortunate enough to have a backup, a very nice one at that, to play in and it helps keeps us on schedule. I’m not sure what team it favors more but we have to become the better team wherever 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.