BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team takes on another non-conference opponent Tuesday when Kansas travels to W.T. Robinson Tennis Stadium for a midweek contest at 4 p.m.
The Lady Tigers defeated Prairie View A&M, 6-1, Wednesday to improve their overall record to 8-5 (0-4 Southeastern Conference). They had the weekend off from SEC play before this match.
Head coach Tony Minnis is looking for his team to come out focused from the start of the match and avoid falling behind early as it has in several previous matches.
“We have to come out focused from the beginning and avoid falling into holes early,” he said. “If we want to make the NCAA Tournament, we need to show up with fire and intensity and maintain that level of play throughout the match.”
Kansas owns a .500 record heading into the contest. The Jayhawks (6-6, 0-4 Big XII) are fresh off a win over Southern on Sunday. That win snapped a four-match losing skid for the team.
“Kansas is a very good team, and we need to make sure we come out prepared and ready to play,” Minnis said. “Regardless of injuries or whatever the situation, we need to play the way we are capable of playing.”
Freshman Mykala Hedberg has led the Lady Tigers at the No. 1 spot this year. By picking up a win over Marika Dawkins of Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, she improved her record in dual matches to 8-5 at the top of the lineup.
The Jayhawks are led by Ksenia Bukina, who is 6-4 in the No. 1 spot. Elizaveta Avdeeva is also 7-3 for Kansas in the No. 2 slot.
LSU and Kansas have met four times in women’s tennis, with the Lady Tigers holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The last contest resulted in a 6-3 LSU victory in 1995.
The Lady Tigers return to SEC play after this match, traveling to South Carolina and Florida for weekend showdowns.