BATON ROUGE — Two members of the LSU women’s tennis team will play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships while three Lady Tigers will compete in the SEC Fall Coaches Classic to close out fall play as both tournaments begin on Thursday.
Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg will take part in the ITA Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville. Nicole Kantor, Nicole Smith and Whitney Wolf will compete in the SEC Classic held at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Falcon and Hedberg enter the tournament as regional champions in doubles as the 11th-ranked duo breezed through the Southwest Regional bracket to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Lady Tiger tandem was the first to capture the regional title in head coach Tony Minnis‘ 18 years at LSU, and the duo has jumped out to an 11-1 record this season including three ranked wins.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Megan and Mykala on the national stage,” Minnis said. “They have a lot of momentum in doubles, and it’s a good chance for Megan to knock off some top players in singles.”
Falcon and Hedberg will face host Virginia’s Amanda Rales and Maggie Yahner in the first round at 9:30 a.m. CST. The doubles draw is a 16-seed bracket. In singles, 15th-ranked Falcon will open up against Fresno State’s 16th-ranked Anastasia Petukhova in a rematch from the ITA All-American Championships in early October. In the consolation bracket Falcon cruised past Petukhova 6-3, 6-2. The singles bracket is a 32-player draw.
In the SEC Classic, doubles play will open the tournament at 4 p.m., but the draws will not be finalized until Thursday morning. Kantor and Wolf will compete together in doubles, and Smith will join the two in singles action that begins Friday.
“The SEC Coaches Classic is a good chance for these girls to make a name for themselves,” Minnis said. “They have some chances to play girls who compete higher in the lineup for other SEC schools, so this is a great opportunity for them to take advantage of that and have a good showing.”
Both tournaments feature consolation draws and will continue play through Sunday.