BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team takes on a tough non-conference opponent when it plays host to Texas A&M on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Aggies currently rank at No. 32 by the ITA and are the highest-rated opponent the Lady Tigers have faced to this point in the season.
“Texas A&M is a really good team, and it’s a battle every time we play them,” head coach Tony Minnis said. “I expect nothing less this time.”
The Lady Tigers enter the match with a ranking of No. 43 and an unblemished 4-0 record, including wins over in-state foes Louisiana Tech, UL-Lafayette and Southern and a tight 4-3 victory last weekend over Rice. Texas A&M owns a 2-2 record, but both losses came in 4-3 fashion to teams currently ranked in the top 30 in Kentucky (No. 18) and Maryland (No. 30).
The Aggies lead LSU in the all-time series, 16-12. Texas A&M won last year’s contest in College Station, Texas, 4-2, and have won six of the seven previous meetings.
After having Friday’s scheduled match against Houston postponed because of weather conditions, Minnis said the Lady Tigers are ready to get on the court and get in another quality match.
“It’s been difficult having so many matches affected by the weather this early in the season,” he said. “But these girls are very ready to play. They’re ready to get on the court and are looking forward to playing a quality opponent in Texas A&M.”
While the Lady Tigers do not have any individuals in this week’s rankings, Texas A&M has both a singles player and doubles tandem listed. Anna Blagodarova is 51st in singles, and Sarah Foster and Anna Lubinsky rank at No. 29 in doubles.
LSU is yet to lose a match in doubles play this season. The court one duo of Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker picked up an impressive win a week ago with an upset of 30th-ranked Blair DiSesa and Alanna Rodgers of Rice.
“We’ve been really strong in doubles to open the season, especially Lauren and Tiffany at the top of the lineup,” Minnis said. “They have a chance to beat another highly ranked opponent this weekend, and it’s something they’re very capable of doing.”