BATON ROUGE — The No. 25-ranked LSU women’s tennis teams begins a crucial weekend in SEC play Friday at 4 p.m. when they welcome Auburn to W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium.
The Lady Tigers (11-6, 3-5) have moved into contention for the SEC Western Division title after winning four of their past five matches. One win ahead of them stands division-leading Alabama, whom they face here on Sunday.
But first the Lady Tigers must overcome an experienced Auburn squad that beat LSU last time they came to Baton Rouge in 2002.
“Auburn still has four girls from the team that beat us here two years ago,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “They’ve lost some close matches. I expect this to be a fight to the end.”
LSU should have a full complement of healthy players after retuning junior Amanda Mang to the starting lineup last weekend. Sophomore Camila Caliari also battled an injury but is expected to see action.
The Lady Tigers have recently been paced by sophomore Daysi Espinal and 62nd-ranked senior Jessica Ferguson. Espinal won both her matches at No. 6 singles in last weekend’s victories over Ole Miss and Mississippi State. She also partnered with Caliari at No. 3 doubles to win both matches.
Ferguson has beaten four nationally ranked players at No. 1 singles this year. She and sophomore Marina Chiarelli are 10-9 in doubles.
The LSU tennis booster club is offering free hotdogs before the match and after the doubles point to anyone who attends.