STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Five LSU women’s tennis players will start competing in the Southeastern Conference Fall Championships on Friday here in Stone Mountain, Ga.
“This is going to be a big tournament for us,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “We’ll be facing SEC competition, and it will be a chance for me to see how our players will perform against some of the best in the conference.”
Competing in the SEC Fall Championships for the Lady Tigers will be senior Fernanda Tsucamoto, juniors Tami Botts, Kelly Craycraft, and Amy McIlhaney, as well as sophomore Lauren Haddix. LSU’s sixth-ranked Bruna Colosio will sit out the tournament while she nurses a past injury to her back.
The Lady Tigers’ Botts heads into the competition looking to extend a three-match winning streak. She has accumulated a 3-0 record this fall by advancing to the championship match in last week’s Hoosier Classic held in Bloomington, Ind. The title match of the Hoosier Classic was cancelled due to time constraints.
“Tami (Botts) has been playing some outstanding tennis this fall,” Minnis said. “Everyone on the team has done a great job of improving in the offseason, and I can’t wait to see how we do against the tough SEC competition this weekend.”
The Southeastern Conference boasts the toughest and highest-ranked teams in the nation, including the 2000 NCAA Champion Georgia Lady Bulldogs. Georgia finished last season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation while seven of the 12 SEC teams were among the top 20.
LSU ended the season as the 21st-ranked team in the nation after advancing to its second all-time trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA.
The Lady Tigers will begin first-round play in the SEC Fall Championships Friday morning in Stone Mountain, Ga.