GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 10th-seeded LSU women’s tennis team will face a rematch with seventh-seeded and No. 44-ranked Arkansas in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday in a 1 p.m. CT match-up at Florida’s Ring Tennis Complex.
The Lady Tigers (11-11, 3-8 SEC) completed the regular season Saturday by recording a 5-2 upset win over the same Arkansas team (10-9, 5-6 SEC).
“It’s important for the girls to come out with the same type of intensity they did against Arkansas last week,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We know we are capable of beating them, so we just have to play with fire and determination to do so.”
The Lady Tigers struggled early in conference play this season, but managed wins in three of their last four SEC matches to close out the year. They enter the postseason with wins in three of their last five matches overall.
Arkansas also struggled early in SEC play, losing its first five matches. However, they put together a five-match SEC and six-match overall winning streak headed into Saturday’s contest with the Lady Tigers. That loss snapped their streak and also marked Arkansas’ first loss to an SEC Western Division opponent.
Now 17-9 all-time against the Lady ?Backs, LSU also looks to extend its streak to nine straight over Arkansas with the win. A victory in the first round would then put the Lady Tigers up against No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt, which beat LSU earlier in the year, 7-0, in Baton Rouge.
Since the SEC Tournament restarted in 1990, LSU has recorded an 8-16 overall record. The Lady Tigers are yet to advance past the semifinals, and no team besides Florida (15) and Georgia (3) has ever won the title.
The Lady Tigers dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision in the first round of last year’s SEC Tournament to Mississippi State in a seven-hour marathon match. LSU won the doubles point, but still surrendered four singles matches to the Bulldogs.
LSU’s four seniors will look to use their experience from past tournaments to help the team advance. They were part of the 2004 squad that made it all the way to the semifinals but lost to eventual champion Florida.
“These seniors know what it takes to win on this type of stage,” Minnis said. “Hopefully they will use the experience they’ve gained to get a win in this situation.”
2006 SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament
Gainesville, Fla.
April 20-23, 2006
Match
Teams
Time (ET)
Thursday, April 20
Match 1:
#8 South Carolina vs. #9 Ole Miss
10 a.m. (Varsity Courts)
Match 2:
#5 Tennessee vs. #12 Auburn
10 a.m. (Stadium Courts)
Match 3:
#6 Alabama vs. #11 Miss. State
2 p.m. (Stadium Courts)
Match 4:
#7 Arkansas vs. #10 LSU
2 p.m. (Varsity Courts)
Friday, April 21
Match 5:
Match 1 winner vs. #1 Florida
10 a.m. (Stadium Courts)
Match 6:
Match 2 winner vs. #4 Georgia
10 a.m. (Varsity Courts)
Match 7:
Match 3 winner vs. #3 Kentucky
2 p.m. (Varsity Courts)
Match 8:
Match 4 winner vs. #2 Vanderbilt
2 p.m. (Stadium Courts)
Saturday, April 22
Match 9:
Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner
10 a.m. (Stadium Courts)
Match 10:
Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner
2 p.m. (Stadium Courts)
Sunday, April 23
Championship
Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner
Noon (Stadium Courts)