COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 34th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team begins its NCAA tournament run on Friday against No. 26 Indiana at 11 a.m. in Texas A&M’s George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The first round contest will be the first meeting of the season between the Tigers (11-13), who are the region’s No. 3 seed, and the second-seeded Hoosiers (23-7). The winner will advance to take on the winner of the match between host Texas A&M, the tournament’s No. 9 overall seed, and Alcorn State.
Tickets can be purchased at the Mitchell Tennis Center, and are $12 for all-session passes and $5 for single day tickets.
First and second-round competition will be conducted Friday-Sunday, May 13-15, at 16 different regional sites with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Championships at the Taube Tennis Center in Palo Alto, Calif., May 19-21.
“The team is eager to get back on the courts and compete against a quality opponent,” LSU head coach Jeff Brown said. “We were playing at our highest level the last time out at the SEC tournament, so we’re looking to build on that and take the next step to continue to advance in the NCAA tournament. This team has worked hard to get in the tournament, but we’re looking for more than that.”
It was a banner year for the Hoosiers, who broke their program record for wins in a season with 23, and were 9-1 in Big 10 action, trying the school record.
Indiana is led by First-Team All-Big Ten players Jeremy Langer and Santiago Gruter, who compete on the top two singles courts and combine to make the No. 44 doubles duo in the nation with a 25-7 record. Sophomore Josh McTaggart is ranked No. 109 in the singles poll, and is 11-1 on the year playing on Court 3.
The Tigers are led by the eighth-ranked doubles pair of senior Sebastian Carlsson and junior Neal Skupski, who are currently riding a three-match unbeaten streak and have won 10 of their last 12 matches. The duo has been solid all season for the Tigers at the top doubles spot, amassing an 18-5 dual record this spring and a 28-9 overall record for the year.
Skupski is the lone ranked singles player for the Tigers, checking in at No. 87. The Liverpool, England, product has turned it on at the end of the season, winning four of his last six matches and was named Second-Team All-SEC for the third consecutive year.
The Tigers have faced the Hoosiers only five times in school history, with Indiana holding a 3-2 advantage all-time. The two teams last met in 1999, with Indiana edging LSU 4-3 in a regular-season matchup.
The Tigers hold a 28-26 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, and LSU has reached the tournament 26 times. Last year was the first time in Brown’s 13 seasons the Tigers failed to make the tournament. LSU reached the semifinals back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, Brown’s first two years at the helm.
It’s the sixth NCAA tournament appearance for Indiana, who fell to Vanderbilt in their last trip to the tournament in 2008.
The SEC is well represented with nine total schools in the NCAA tournament as LSU is joined by Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Florida. In addition, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Florida are each hosting as national seeds. With nine teams, the SEC is tied with the ACC for the most teams in the tournament by a conference.
For up-to-date information and behind the scenes access to the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s team on Twitter @lsutennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
NCAA Men’s Tournament
First and Second Round
College Station, Texas at Atkins Tennis Center
(All Times Central)
Friday, May 13
First Round
Match #1 LSU vs. Indiana 11 a.m.
Match #2 Texas A&M vs. Alcorn State 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Second Round
Match #3 Winner Match #1 vs. Winner Match #2 3 p.m.