BATON ROUGE — The 16th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team (15-7, 8-3 SEC) will have a chance to claim its first SEC West title when it travels to Fayetteville Saturday for a 1 p.m. match with Arkansas.
LSU has not won the SEC West since the league’s tennis programs went to the division format in 2001. The Tigers did win the overall SEC titles under head coach Jeff Brown in 1998 and 1999.
Arkansas (15-8, 5-6 SEC) will not be an easy win for the Tigers. The Razorbacks are coming off of a 5-2 win over Oklahoma. Arkansas boasts a stout singles lineup that includes four ranked players.
“They’re good so we’ll have to compete at the top of our game,” said Brown. “This would be a big step for the program and set us up well for the SEC Tournament.”
The Hogs’ No. 1 singles player 22nd-ranked Adrians Zguns will be matched up against LSU’s 21st-ranked Ken Skupski. Skupski comes in to the contest after having his seven match-winning streak snapped against Auburn.
The Tigers will look to continue their superb doubles play. LSU has won the doubles point in nine consecutive matches and has swept the doubles matches in each of their last three contests.
A win would not only guarantee LSU a Western Divison championship but also a bye in the first round of the SEC Tournament starting April 20.