BATON ROUGE — The 26th-ranked LSU women’s tennis team has a tough road ahead of them in the NCAA Tournament this season, as the Lady Tigers head to Palo Alto, Calif., to face the Ole Miss Lady Rebels in the first round of competition on May 11.
“Obviously, this is going to be a really tough test for us,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “We’re playing Ole Miss in the first round, and then if we can get by them, we have to play Stanford in the second round. We’re finally healthy. We’re playing good tennis, and we just have to get after people and see what happens. We’re looking at this as an opportunity to do something special.”
The nation’s top-ranked team, Stanford, will host the NCAA Regional and play Boston University in the first round. Stanford finished the season as the PAC-10 Champion and ended dual-match play with a perfect overall record of 24-0. Boston University earned the American East Conference title and has accumulated a 11-7 overall record this season.
Southeastern Conference rivals, LSU and Ole Miss, qualified for the NCAA Tournament with at-large bids and face each other in the first round. The Lady Tigers head into the match a 14-9 dual record and as the 26th-ranked team in the nation. Ole Miss enters as the nation’s No. 34 team and the Lady Rebels possess an overall record of 9-12.
During regular season play, Ole Miss defeated LSU by a score of 5-2 in Oxford, Miss. The Lady Tigers ended SEC competition as the seventh-place team with a 4-7 record, while the Lady Rebels finished 3-8 and in ninth place.
The NCAA individual and doubles selections were also announced Thursday, and junior Bruna Colosio will be participating in the singles competition.
Colosio is currently ranked eighth in the nation and owns a 23-3 overall record. This is her second appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships, and the duo of Colosio and freshman Rocio Fantilli were named the second alternate in the doubles draw.
The LSU women’s tennis team will face the Ole Miss Lady Rebels in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. The times for the regional have not been set yet as Stanford is also hosting a men’s regional.