COLUMBIA, S.C. — The LSU women’s tennis team continues its Southeastern Conference slate Friday when it travels to face 34th-ranked South Carolina at 1 p.m. CT.
The Lady Tigers bring an 8-6 overall mark into Columbia, still yet to record an SEC win at 0-4 on the year.
“We have to step up our level of play for the rest of the year,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We have to compete harder if we’re going to do anything in the tough conference we play in.”
The Gamecocks are currently the last-place team in the SEC East despite owning a 9-4 overall record with a 2-2 mark in conference action. Their only losses were at nationally ranked Maryland and Harvard and at home to SEC rivals Georgia and Tennessee.
Their last match resulted in a 6-1 South Carolina win over Winthrop, a victory that marked head coach Arlo Alkins’ 350th career win.
“South Carolina is a very good team,” Minnis said. “Again, we’re going to have to up our intensity and level of play to get the results we want against a tough USC team.”
The Lady Tigers are coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss Tuesday to Kansas. Despite picking up the doubles point to start the match, LSU could not claim enough singles matches for the victory.
In the teams’ meeting last year, the Lady Tigers captured a thrilling 4-3 win over the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge. Freshman Staten Spencer clinched the match with a three-set victory on court three to push LSU to the upset.
That was the first time LSU had defeated South Carolina since 1985, however. The Gamecocks hold the advantage in the all-time series, 14-2.
South Carolina, ranked 34th as a team, also boasts two ranked singles players. Gira Schofield is 68th and Natasa Vuckovic is 115th. Schofield has posted a 10-3 mark at the No. 1 spot for the Gamecocks, while Vuckovic has gone 6-3 at No. 2.