BATON ROUGE — The ninth-ranked LSU men’s tennis team goes on the road on Saturday for a battle with No. 11 Tennessee in a crucial Southeastern Conference match.
The Volunteers (16-4, 8-1) and Tigers (16-2, 6-1) are in second and third place respectively in the SEC. Each team is one loss behind Florida for the conference crown.
“This is definitely a big match for us as far as an SEC Championships is concerned,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “Both teams are on a roll coming into the match so something will have to give.”
Heading into the match, the Tigers have won a school-record 19 straight conference matches away from home dating back to the beginning of the 1998 season.
LSU is led into the match by 22nd-ranked Tom Hand and 28th-ranked Michal Chmela. Chmela also is ranked in doubles, No. 14 with partner Dan Kiernan.
Tennessee brings in a line up that features four ranked players in single and three ranked teams in doubles. Mark Parsons heads the group at No. 27 followed by Peter Handoyo who is 43rd. Adam Carey is ranked 66th while Paul Podbury holds the No. 93 position.
In doubles, Carey and Parsons team up to form the nation’s 24th ranked team. Andy Crews and Handoyo are ranked No. 32 and Mark Fitzpatrick and Podbury are ranked No. 44.
“They have one of the top line ups in the nation in both singles and doubles. We will have to continue to play well at every spot to get a victory,” said Brown.
The two teams have met once this season, that coming in the ITA National Indoor Team Championships held in Louisville, Ky., in February. Tennessee upset then No. 1 LSU 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
“We are excited to get a chance to play them again,” said Brown. “It is a good opportunity to see where we have improved from then to now.”