MALIBU, Calif. — The 32nd-ranked LSU women’s tennis team will begin its sixth-straight NCAA Tournament Friday against the 42nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Malibu, Calif., at noon CDT.
“This is going to be a tough match for us,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “Iowa made it to the Sweet 16 last season, and they have a lot of the same players again this year.”
The Lady Tigers finished the regular season with a 14-10 overall record, while Iowa ended its season at 10-12. LSU compiled a 4-9 record versus Southeastern Conference opponents in 2000. Iowa finished its Big Ten Conference schedule with an impressive 7-3 mark.
During the 2000 regular season schedule, the Lady Tigers and Hawkeyes both played Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Purdue. LSU defeated Purdue, 7-2, in Baton Rouge, while Iowa was victorious in Purdue, 4-3.
Both teams fell to Florida State, 5-4. The Lady Tigers lost in Tallahassee, Fla., while the Hawkeyes were defeated at home in Iowa City. The Vanderbilt Commodores topped both LSU and Iowa this season in Nashville, Tenn. The Lady Tigers came up short, 6-3, while Iowa was dropped, 8-1.
The winner of Friday’s matchup between LSU and Iowa will face either the hometown favorite 6th-ranked Pepperdine Waves or the Drake Lady Bulldogs.
“We need to focus in on this upcoming match,” Minnis said. “We are going to have to step up our level of play and concentrate on winning versus Iowa.”
The two-victorious teams in the opening round will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. (Central Time) for the Regional Championship, along with the right to return to Malibu for the NCAA Championships as one of the top-16 teams in the nation.
Last season the Lady Tigers defeated 44th-ranked Ohio State, 5-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. LSU was then knocked off by eighth-ranked Pepperdine, 5-1, in the second round.
The opening-round match of the NCAA Tournament between the 32nd-ranked LSU Lady Tigers and the 42nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will begin Friday at noon (Central Time) in Malibu, Calif.