NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 13th-ranked LSU Men’s Tennis team will begin play Thursday in the SEC Tournament with an 8 a.m. match against the 12th-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.
The fifth-seed Tigers (16-5, 7-4 SEC) finished the regular season in a three-way tie for third place in the conference. Alabama (10-13, 2-9 SEC) finished tied for 11th place with Mississippi State.
LSU beat Alabama, 6-1 in their April 4 regular-season meeting. The Crimson Tide feature 42nd-ranked Stephen Mitchell and the 49th-ranked doubles team of Mitchell and Chris Gostek.
A win Thursday would set up a chance for LSU to avenge an earlier loss to fourth-seed Kentucky. The Tigers’ worst loss of the season came March 19 at the hands of the 15th-ranked Wildcats, who were also involved in the tie for third place.
LSU built momentum for the tournament Sunday with a 4-1 win over South Carolina.
LSU carries a string of 10-consecutive doubles point victories into the tournament, thanks largely to its two ranked duos. Jason Hazley and Bryan Fisher are ranked 16th in the country and have won their last three matches at No. 1 doubles. Cory Ross and Sebastian Rutka are undefeated and ranked 44th.
Ken Skupski has played at No. 1 singles in every conference match this season for the Tigers. He leads the team at 30th in the singles rankings.
Live scoring for all tournament matches and a complete tournament bracket is available on www.LSUsports.net.