TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU women’s tennis team begins play in the 2005 Southeastern Conference Tournament as the ninth-seeded team Thursday versus No. 8-seed Mississippi State at 9 a.m.
The Lady Tigers enter the match having won five of their last six matches and three straight SEC contests. They improved their record to 12-10 (4-7 SEC) with a regular-season-ending win at Arkansas.
“Mississippi State’s had a great year, but we’ve been playing really well as of late,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “We just have to hope we come out with that competitive fire at the very start of the match.”
Mississippi State finished their regular season 11-6 (5-6 SEC) tied for first place in the SEC Western Division with Ole Miss and ranked 30th nationally.
LSU faced the Bulldogs in Baton Rouge earlier this season, with Mississippi State winning 4-3. The Bulldogs won the decisive doubles match, 9-7, to win the early point, which ended up being the difference in the match.
“Every match I stress the doubles point, but especially in this match because that was the difference the last time we played,” Minnis said. “Doubles is such a momentum point in any match.”
One thing different about the Lady Tigers in that match was that the doubles lineup was not the usual as Lauren Seaman had not fully recovered from injury.
Since the doubles lineup has returned to its usual, the Lady Tigers have won the doubles point five of six matches, including sweeping it four times. They are 11-1 this season in matches where they claimed the first point by winning doubles.
Positions four, five and six have been dominant for the Lady Tigers as of late, and Minnis will look to Marina Chiarelli, Tiffany Tucker and Camila Caliari to continue their success.
But he will also look to the top half of the lineup to pick up a win that none of them were able to earn in the first outing versus the Bulldogs. Senior Amanda Mang will likely face 15th-ranked Zsuzsanna Fodor in the No. 1 spot, trying to propel her team to victory.
“It’s Amanda’s senior year, so it would definitely be huge for her to get a win here and help her team.” Minnis said. “She’s worked really hard and I know she wants to end the year and her career on a good note.”
If the Lady Tigers get past Mississippi State, they would face regular-season SEC Champions Kentucky at 9 a.m. Friday. The Wildcats are the top seed in the tournament and the third-ranked team in the country.