NEW ORLEANS — The LSU women’s tennis team will attempt to extend its winning streak against in-state opponents to 41 matches on Wednesday as the Lady Tigers travel to New Orleans for a non-conference duel against the 25th-ranked Tulane Green Wave at 5 p.m. at the Goldring Tennis Center.
“Tulane has a very talented team this year,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “This is probably the best team that they’ve ever had and they have been playing very well lately. Our team has been competing really hard these past couple of weeks and I think that we’ve been seeing some of our best tennis. We’ve definitely been going up against some tough competition and it would be a big win for us tomorrow.”
LSU heads into Wednesday’s in-state contest with an overall record of 8-10 on the season and a 2-4 mark in matches played on the road. Over the weekend, the Lady Tigers embarked on their toughest road trip of the season and fell to both No. 13 Vanderbilt and the 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Six of the Lady Tigers’ 10 losses of the 2003 dual-match season have come against opponents currently ranked among the top-20 teams in the nation.
Prior to dropping road contests against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, LSU fell prey to No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Tennessee and the 20th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
“It doesn’t get any easier for this team,” Minnis said. “We’re coming off of a six-match Southeastern Conference stretch where we’ve played against a number of top-20 ranked opponents and now we have another tough match versus No. 25 Tulane. It’s difficult for a young team to deal with, but in the long run it’s making us better for later on in the season when it will really count.”
Tulane enters Wednesday matchup with a 13-3 overall record on the season and a 7-1 mark while playing at home at the Goldring Tennis Stadium. The Green Wave’s three losses of the season came against No. 16 South Alabama, 5-2, No. 23 Virginia Commonwealth, 5-2, and the Arkansas Lady’Backs, 4-3.
LSU owns a substantial 27-2 all-time record against the Green Wave in the 26-year history of the rivalry. The Lady Tigers are currently in the midst of a nine-match winning streak against Tulane and have not been defeated since the 1994 season. In what was also LSU’s last loss versus an in-state opponent, Tulane rallied for a 6-3 win.
Last season, LSU dropped the Green Wave, 5-2, in Baton Rouge at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The LSU women’s tennis team will renew its annual rivalry with the 25th-ranked Tulane Green Wave on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Goldring Tennis Center in New Orleans.