COLLEGE STATION, Texas—The LSU men’s tennis team will compete in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning Saturday at 2 p.m. CT against SEC foe and No. 7 Texas A&M.
LSU will compete again on Sunday against either Cal Poly or Georgia State.
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend winner will qualify for the 2018 ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle, Washington, Feb. 16-18 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Thoughts from the Co-Head Coach Chris Brandi
“We had a good couple of days of practice and worked on a couple of areas that we still need to improve on, and the guys are excited to play on the road for the first time this season,” co-head coach Chris Brandi said. “Texas A&M is one of the best teams in the country, and we will learn a lot about what it takes and what a really good team looks like. We have nothing to lose. Then, win or lose, we will need to bounce back on Sunday to play another very solid team. It is a great opportunity for all of us early in the season.”
The Matchup
Texas A&M holds a 20-27 all-time advantage against the Tigers. Last time out, LSU fell to Texas A&M, 5-2, at the LSU Tennis Complex back in March 2017.
LSU has not met against either Cal Poly or Georgia State in school history.
Tiger Tidbits
The Tigers are coming off of a gritty 4-2 win against the UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and are off to a strong 5-0 start to the season.
Rafael Wagner clinched the match for the Tigers on court three and improved to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the dual season. Gabor Csonka also highlighted the match with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court two for the Tigers, pushing his record to 5-0 in the dual season and 8-4 overall.
Duo Julian Saborio and Csonka have dominated on court one this season, improving to 3-0 overall in doubles play.
Notes on the Opponents
Texas A&M
The Aggies are 1-0 to start the season after defeating Arizona State, 6-1, in Tempe, Arizona. Texas A&M has three players ranked in singles in No. 10 Valentin Vacherot, No. 41 Jordi Arconada and No. 53 AJ Catanzariti. Pairs Juan Carlos Aguilar and Arconada along with Kevin Lam and Arconada are listed as No. 18 and No. 25, respectively, in the ITA Doubles rankings.
Cal Poly
The Mustangs are off to a 2-0 start on the season after defeating the University of Pacific and Sacramento State. Junior Josh Ortlip was named the Big West Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week after starting the season 4-0 and made his debut on court one in singles.
Georgia State
The Panthers are 3-2 to start the season, and recorded a 4-3 win against Portland on Jan. 20. Quentin Coulaud leads the team with a. 3-2 record on court two.Georgia State duo Kevin Huyn and Giles Hussey are No. 56 in the ITA Doubles rankings.
Social Center
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.