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Lady Tigers Tennis to Face Duke in NCAA First Round

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Lady Tigers Tennis to Face Duke in NCAA First Round

BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team received an NCAA Tournament bid and will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play No. 22 Duke in the opening round Saturday, May 12, noon CT, at the University of North Carolina’s Cone-Kenfield Stadium, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

“It is nice to make the tournament again. It really makes you appreciate it after missing it for the first time last year,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “Duke is obviously very tough. We saw them earlier this year at an indoor tournament. We are excited to go up to UNC and take a good shot at them.”

The Lady Tigers currently own a 16-9 record. Their last match was a heartbreaking 4-1 loss to Florida in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Sophomore Megan Falcon, ranked No. 2 in the nation, will lead LSU into the tournament with an undefeated 23-0 record in the No. 1 slot.

Duke enters the tournament with an 11-10 record. Their last match came against Georgia Tech as they fell 4-0 in the Atlantic Coastal Conference Championship quarterfinal round.

The Blue Devils are led by senior Daniela Bercek, who is ranked No. 67 in the nation, and owns an 8-7 record in the No.1 slot.

Other teams in LSU’s regional are host team, UNC (21-8), who is the tournament’s No. 11 seed and Marist College (12-1).

Should the Lady Tigers advance past Duke, they will face the winner of UNC and Marist on Sunday, May 13, at Noon.

LSU joined eight other SEC teams in making the tournament. Vanderbilt, Florida and Georgia will play host the first two rounds, and Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky and Auburn earned regional berths as well.

After not receiving a bid for the first time in 12 years last year, Minnis and the Lady Tigers are excited to be back in the tournament.

UNC FIRST AND SECOND ROUND QUICK FACTS
* All Times are Central and Subject to Change

Saturday, May 12
8:00 a.m. Gates Open
9:00 a.m. North Carolina vs. Marist
Noon Duke vs. LSU

Sunday, May 13
Noon Gates Open
1:00 p.m. Women’s Second Round

TICKET PRICES
Adult $5.00
Student/Senior Citizens $3.00

*one ticket good for all day