NASHVILLE – After beginning its weekend at No. 23 Kentucky, the LSU men’s tennis team will conclude its road swing with a match against the No. 22 Vanderbilt Commodores at noon CT Sunday in the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
Thoughts from Co-Head Coach Chris Brandi
“Vanderbilt is having a great season and is one of the hottest teams in the SEC,” co-head coach Chris Brandi said. “We played a fall tournament there and are familiar with the environment, but we will have to be at our best from the first point on.”
The Matchup
The Tigers have the all-time 48-20-1 advantage against the Commodores. Last season, LSU defeated Vanderbilt in a gritty 4-3 match at the LSU Tennis Complex. Nikola Samardzic earned a court five singles win in the contest against current Commodore Panu Virtanen.
In the fall season, sophomore Rafael Wagner recorded a win against Virtanen in straight sets at the Commodore Scramble.
Tiger Tidbits
LSU is 8-11 on the season, 1-6 in SEC play and is looking to capture their first road win of the season.
Last time out, the Tigers fell to Kentucky, 7-0. On court three, Rafael Wagner has a 7-4 overall record. The sophomore has a team-best 15 wins.
The doubles pair of Shane Monroe and Stewart Block has a team-best nine wins on court three. Moreno and Wagner are 5-3 on the second court and are 1-2 on court one with a top-10 victory on the top court.
Notes on the Commodores
Vanderbilt has an overall record of 15-5 and are 5-3 in conference play entering Sunday’s match. The Commodores suffered a 4-3 loss at home against No. 9 Texas A&M Friday. Vanderbilt clinched the doubles point and Daniel Valent and George Harwell each earned singles wins in the loss.
Three Commodores are ranked in singles action: No. 22 Cameron Klinger, No. 56 Valent and No. 100 Baker Newman. Duo Klinger and Billy Rowe are currently listed as 46th in the nation on the doubles court.
Social Center
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