NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU women’s tennis team will face the 10th-ranked Vanderbilt Lady Commodores Friday in a Southeastern Conference battle set to take place in Nashville, Tenn.
“Vanderbilt has a very tough team this season,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “They are still in the hunt to win the conference, so they will come out ready to play, and we need a big win to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be a war.”
LSU (12-7, 2-6 SEC) will enter Friday’s contest in the midst of a two-match winning streak. The Lady Tigers won their previous two matches over Purdue, 7-2, and Tulane, 6-3.
Vanderbilt (17-2, 7-1 SEC) enters the match with only two losses. Earlier this season, the Lady Commodores were defeated by fourth-ranked Georgia, 6-1, at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in a non-SEC matchup. Vanderbilt lost its second match of the season to ninth-ranked Florida on April 1, 7-2.
Leading the Lady Tigers against Vanderbilt will be LSU’s two-ranked singles players, 11th-ranked Bruna Colosio and 68th-ranked Ana Paula Mores.
Colosio has been victorious in her previous 10 singles matches to maintain a 29-6 overall record, while Mores is 28-6 with an eight-match winning streak. Colosio and Mores are a combined 31-3 in No. 1 and No. 2 singles this season.
The Lady Commodores will bring five nationally ranked singles players into Friday’s match versus LSU. Julie Ditty is No. 48, Kristy Blumberg is No. 69, Sarah Riske is No. 85, Lauren Rose is No. 90, and Jenny Miller is No. 97.
In doubles play, the 10th and 11th-ranked teams in the nation will go head to head on court No. 1 as LSU’s 10th-ranked Colosio/Mores will take on the 11th-ranked duo of Blumberg and Kate Burson. The combination of Colosio/Mores has a 10-4 record in dual matches this season, while Blumberg/Burson are 11-3.
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series between the two schools with a 14-9 advantage. The Lady Commodores have been victorious in their prior two meetings versus LSU, including a 6-2 win over the Lady Tigers last season in Baton Rouge.
The match between the LSU Lady Tigers and the 10th-ranked Vanderbilt Lady Commodores will begin Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Nashville, Tenn.