BATON ROUGE — The 25th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team is prepared for Sunday’s Southeastern Conference match against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers at 3:30 p.m. in the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
“This match against Tennessee is a huge SEC battle for us tomorrow,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “They are a very talented and well-coached team and we are going to have to come out with a lot of fire and enthusiasm in order to get a win. I have been pleased with the way that we have been playing lately, and a win here would definitely help us out before next week’s road trip.”
LSU heads into Sunday’s dual match with an overall record of 10-3 and a 2-2 mark against SEC competition. The Lady Tigers are in the midst of a two-match winning streak after posting non-conference victories over both Southern Methodist and Tulsa. LSU defeated SMU at home by a final score of 5-2, and then dropped Tulsa on Friday, 4-1.
The Lady Volunteers recorded a 6-1 victory over Alabama on Saturday, as Tennessee improved to an overall record to 12-1 on the season. The win also moved the Lady Volunteers up to a 3-0 mark versus SEC competition. The Tennessee’s lone loss of the season came at the hands of third-ranked Duke in the ITA Team Indoor Championships. Tennessee was blanked, 0-7, by the Blue Devels in the match.
The LSU women’s tennis team has recorded SEC victories over both Alabama (5-2) and Mississippi State (4-3) this season, while Tennessee picked up its three-conference wins over Arkansas (6-1), Auburn (6-1) and Alabama.
The Lady Vols are tied for second place in the SEC standings along with both Georgia and Vanderbilt. All three teams currently possess 3-0 conference records.
“Tennessee has a lot of smart, veteran players on their team right now,” Minnis said. “They are very consistent and don’t make a lot of mistakes, so we just need to come at them strong and force them to make some shots. If we can do that and limit our unforced errors, then we should be in good shape.”
Court No. 1 will feature a pair of nationally-ranked match-ups in both doubles and singles play. In doubles, the Lady Tigers’ 20th-ranked tandem of Bruna Colosio and Rocio Fantilli will face Tennessee’s 13th-ranked pair of Vilmarie Castellvi and Alison Ojeda.
LSU’s Colosio and the Lady Vols’ Ojeda will also face each other in the No. 1 singles match. Colosio comes in with a 15-2 overall record and as the No. 43 player in the nation, while Ojeda is currently the country’s 83rd-ranked singles player.
In last season’s annual contest between the two teams, Tennessee overcame a two-point deficit in the doubles round to hand the Lady Tigers their sixth loss of the season in Knoxville, Tenn. With the win, the Lady Vols took a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series between the two-SEC rivals.
The 25th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team will host the 15th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the final match of Sunday’s double-header at the “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Lady Tigers’ match is scheduled to begin immediately following the LSU men’s team’s match versus the seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Tigers’ match will begin at noon. Admission is free for both of Sunday’s matches and the LSU tennis department will provide deli sandwiches for the fans.