BATON ROUGE — An LSU women’s tennis team that started conference play 0-4 can clinch the SEC West on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a win over Arkansas in Robinson Stadium.
The Lady Tigers (14-6, 5-5) have since turned things around since those first contests and jumped 42 spots in the rankings to No. 20. They won their last five matches and seven out of eight since a 4-3 upset over Texas A&M on March 11.
LSU tied Alabama in the division standings this past Sunday with a 4-3 win in Baton Rouge. Senior Jessica Ferguson clinched the win at No. 1 singles in a three-set battle with then 37th-ranked Robin Stephenson.
Ferguson, ranked 50th in singles, earned SEC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season for her role in the victory.
Marina Chiarelli and Lauren Seaman are both currently on five-match singles win-streaks for the Lady Tigers. Amanda Mang, LSU’s 122nd-ranked junior, is on a four-match streak.
Chiarelli and Ferguson have won their past three at No. 2 doubles.
Arkansas has struggled in conference play this year, bringing a 0-10 SEC record into the match. The Lady Backs are led by seniors Megan Ferreira and Anna Dybicz at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions.
LSU will complete a long week on Sunday when they play host to Houston in a match that was originally scheduled for Feb. 17. The contest was delayed twice due to rain.