BATON ROUGE — The 10th-rankedd LSU men’s tennis team will begin its quest for the national title on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Alcorn State at Noon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We are excited to begin the NCAA Tournament,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “Everybody begins the weekend with a new start and anything can happen.”
The Tigers, a preseason favorite to make a run at the title have been awarded the No. 11 overall seed in the tournament after going 18-5 in the regular season.
“With the expectations coming into the season, we thought we might have been a little higher seed going into the tournament. But you have to win six matches no matter what, so that is what we are focusing on,” said Brown.
LSU will be led into the match by a trio of seniors, Michal Chmela, Tom Hand and Ed Rubin. Each of the three have been a part of the Tigers two Final Four teams of 1998 and 1999.
“We have a lot of senior leadership on our team,” said Brown. “They have done a lot for LSU in bringing the program to the next level. That is the kind of influence we will need heading into the next two weeks.”
LSU hosts Alcorn State at Noon while Miami faces Clemson at 3 p.m. in first round tournament action at “Dub” Robinson Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.