No. 14 Bulldogs Back At Home Against LSU

STARKVILLE – The last time Mississippi State men’s tennis played at home, the Bulldogs picked up the highest-ranked win in program history with their 5-2 victory over second-ranked South Carolina.

It was No. 14 MSU’s fourth top 20 win of the year and improved Matt Roberts‘ squad to 13-1 in Starkville. The Bulldogs (17-5, 5-4 SEC) are looking to close out their regular season home slate strong as they host No. 45 LSU on Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 60 Arkansas on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Matches are scheduled to be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre but could be moved indoors to the Rula Tennis Pavilion in the case of inclement weather.

Friday’s match against the Tigers will be Mississippi State’s first in Starkville in 19 days. The Bulldogs knocked off then 52^nd-ranked Alabama 4-3 their last time out this past Sunday. Ewen Lumsden and Petar Jovanovic won the final two matches to complete the comeback for State.

Lumsden has now claimed nine of his last 11 singles matches and 14 of his last 17 to enter the ITA rankings for the first time this season at No. 93. Nemanja Malesevic (118) and Carles Hernandez (125) also remain in the ITA singles rankings as well as being ranked 59^th as a doubles tandem.

Jovanovic and Lumsden are ranked No. 73 in doubles as well.

LSU heads into Friday match at 11-8 overall and 2-7 in conference play. The Tigers have won three of their last four matches but fell 6-1 at Ole Miss this past Sunday.

MSU has won six of the last seven meetings against the Tigers. The two teams split last season’s matchup with the Bulldogs winning 4-3 in Baton Rouge before LSU claimed a 4-1 victory at the SEC Championships in Athens, Georgia.

LSU’s lineup features No. 78 Ronnie Hohmann as well as No. 101 Chen Dong. The Tigers also have a 49^th-ranked doubles duo in Stefan Latinovic and Nick Watson.

For more information on the Bulldog men’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.