GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The LSU women’s tennis team faces a tough task as the Lady Tigers travel to take on 4th-ranked Florida in a noon match at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday.
LSU (10-7, 3-4 SEC) is coming off a, 5-2 loss at South Carolina on Friday. Florida (13-1, 7-0) enters the match in first place atop the SEC standings after beating No. 13 Arkansas, 5-2.
“We’ve had some tough losses,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said. “We have to rebound, get ready and try to go out and beat a tough Florida team. We know Florida is good, so hopefully we can compete and come out strong.”
The Gators feature four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams. In singles, sophomore Csilla Borsanyi leads the way as she checks in at No. 28 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Freshman Julia Cohen is ranked No. 36, followed by sophomore Anastasia Revzina at No. 93 and sophomore Megan Alexander at No. 117.
In doubles, Alexander and freshman Marrit Boonstra form the nation’s 8th-ranked team while Cohen and Revzina check in at No. 44. Alexander and Boonstra hold an 11-1 record, and Cohen and Revzina are a perfect 11-0 on the season.
Seven Gators possess records with 10 or more wins, led by Cohen, who holds an 11-2 record playing at No. 1 singles. Senior Lolita Frangulyan leads the team in wins with an 18-2 record and is a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
For LSU, 19th-ranked Megan Falcon enters the match with a 22-4 record and a 10-4 record against ranked opponents after Friday’s straight-set win over No. 44 Gira Schofield of South Carolina.
Last season, the Lady Tigers lost twice to Florida, once in the regular season at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium and once in the SEC Tournament in Lexington, Ky. In both matches, Falcon picked up LSU’s lone win, as she defeated Diana Srebrovic twice at the No. 1 singles position.
The Lady Tigers will have their work cut out for them as Florida boasts an incredible 143-1 all-time record against conference opponents in Gainesville. The only time Florida lost at home to an SEC foe was in 2002 when Georgia won, 4-3.