University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Penn State
@RaginCajunsMT Heads To Louisiana State For The Jerry Simmons Invite
1/25/2019 5:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Men's Tennis (6-1) having won its previous six matches, returns to the court with a visit to Baton Rouge, La., for the Jerry Simmons Invitational where the weekend will open up with a matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, Jan. 26 with the match scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.
TIMES/FOLLOW: Louisiana's first match is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m., and fans can follow the match's live stats, courtesy of Louisiana State Athletics and that link can be found by clicking here.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Saturday's match will open with singles going first, and a win by the fifth seeded Louisiana would move them to the semifinals and a meeting with the winner of the South Florida vs. Nicholls State match. The semifinals match would start at 4 p.m. and begin with doubles.
If Louisiana falls to Penn State, the Ragin' Cajuns would move into the consolation draw and they would face the loser of the same South Florida vs. Nicholls State match and that match would start at 3 p.m. with doubles starting things off.
SIX STRAIGHT AND STILL ROLLING: Louisiana has won its last six straight matches, including a win over Nebraska at the Florida State Invitational to kickstart the winning streak. The win over Nebraska was the first win over a Power Five program for Louisiana since taking down Oklahoma State in 2012 and following that win Louisiana took down New Orleans (Jan. 13), Alcorn State (2x on Jan. 20) and Jackson State (2x on Jan. 21).
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Jamie Fraser has been at the front for Louisiana's dominating stretch, providing a 6-0 record and giving Louisiana solid backend to its lineup playing primarily at the No. 4 singles spot. Sophomore Dominik Koenig has helped Louisiana as well, going 3-0 over the six-match winning streak and senior Arthur Libaud's 4-1 start to the season, playing primarily at the No. 3 spot, and it's a powerful start to Libaud's senior campaign.
FRESHMEN IMPRESS: Freshmen Marko Vujic and Jan Galka have each had a strong start to their collegiate campaigns, with Vujic going 3-0 and Galka coming in right behind him at 3-1. While Vujic has been playing between No. 3 to No. 5, Galka has spearheaded Louisiana's streak, playing all four of his matches at No. 1 singles.
WHAT THE NITTANY LIONS BRING: Penn State will be playing in its first true dual match of the season, having opened its season in Blacksburg, Va., at the Virginia Tech Invitational in non-traditional matches with several different programs. Last season Penn State went 16-12, reaching the quarterfinals of the BIG 10 Championships, falling 4-0 to Illinois to end its season.
QUOTEWORTHY:
(Head Coach Mark Jeffrey):
"This weekend will be big in pushing our guys to a new level. The team is really starting to understand why we welcome strong competition and adversity, and how it is important to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and to learn how to handle those situations."
"This weekend we will see four other teams that are inside the Top-50 nationally, so we need to be ready both physically and mentally. Over the fall we saw South Florida and when it comes to Louisiana State and Georgia State, we are no strangers to what those programs bring to the table. We look forward to the first match we have had in a long time against Penn State and the opportunity to matchup with another Power Five program."
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS:Â Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@RaginCajunsMT) to stay up-to-date with Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Tennis.
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