COLUMBUS, Ohio — Seven members of the LSU women’s tennis team will begin their 2002 fall tournament season on Friday at 9 a.m. at the Ohio State Prince Cup in Columbus, Ohio.
“This is a very good opportunity for some of our newer players to gain some more competitive experience,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “They’ve all laid the foundation over the summer and now it is time for them to start adding to the level of their play in preparation for the dual season.”
The Ohio State Prince Cup is a three-day event beginning Friday morning and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is being held at the Stickney Tennis Center and will feature 48 singles players and 24 doubles pairs from seven of the nation’s top tennis programs.
The tournament will use an open format in which players from Baylor, Eastern Michigan, LSU, Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State will compete against each other in at least three singles or doubles matches. The draw will also feature four nationally ranked players in Ohio State’s No. 69 Erica Fisk and No. 89 Sadhaf Pervez, along with Baylor’s No. 62 Vida Mulec and Notre Dame’s Alicia Salas.
“This is a talented pool of players and it should be good for us to compete against some of the best,” Minnis said. “It will help us continue to play with the highest level of performance and will also show what some of our girls are made of. We’ve been working really hard lately and hopefully that will continue.”
Four Lady Tigers will make their LSU debuts on Friday. Freshmen Marina Chiarelli, Daysi Espinal, Erin McGill and Lauren Seaman will open their LSU careers and will be joined by junior Rocio Fantilli and sophomores Amanda Mang and Bonnie White.