BATON ROUGE – The LSU women’s tennis match against No. 1 Florida has been rescheduled to Friday at 10 a.m. CST at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The match was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday but was moved up due to inclement weather expected to arrive in Baton Rouge on Friday afternoon.
The Lady Tigers (2-5) head into the match following a shutout victory over Xavier (New Orleans) last Sunday. Florida (11-1) knocked off No. 22 Florida State 6-1 on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Fla.
“Florida certainly presents us with a tough challenge,” said LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis. “They are ranked No. 1 for a reason. We are looking at this match as a tremendous opportunity for us, so we are just going to go out there and get after it.”
The Gators feature five players ranked in the top 40 of the ITA singles rankings, headlined by No. 7 Allie Will. The sophomore began the spring season 9-0 before falling to Florida State’s Katie Rybakova in Tuesday’s match.
Sophomore Lauren Embree has compiled a perfect 9-0 singles record this spring and has an overall career singles record of 29-3. The nation’s No. 26-ranked player has defeated three players ranked in the top 40 of the ITA singles rankings since the start of dual-match season.
Will also leads Florida in doubles play, pairing with freshman Sofie Oyen to form the Gators’ No. 1-ranked doubles team. The pair is 16-4 since the start of the fall season with three of their four losses coming to top-five ranked opponents.
The Lady Tigers are ushered into Friday’s match by sophomore Ebie Wilson. She improved her singles record to 5-1 with a straight-set victory over Oklahoma State’s Sarah Meghoufel on Saturday. The Mobile, Ala., native has now won five consecutive singles matches and has yet to lose a set since a season-opening loss on Feb. 3.
LSU junior Whitney Wolf looks to build off momentum gained in her 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Oklahoma State’s Sasha Belova last weekend. The Pride, La., native moved up to No. 52 in the latest ITA singles rankings released earlier this week.
Wilson teams with freshman Ariel Morton to help bolster LSU’s efforts in doubles play. The combo has won two of its last three matches including an 8-2 victory over Meghoufel and Leyla Simmons in their last outing.
Friday’s meeting with the Gators is LSU’s first match against a No. 1 team since Florida visited Baton Rouge in 2003. Since 2000, LSU has faced 23 top-five teams, two of those ranked No. 1 in the ITA Team Rankings.
Admission is free to all home LSU women’s tennis matches. Live stats will be provided for Friday’s match and can be followed at www.LSUsports.net/livestats.
Follow the LSU women’s tennis team on Twitter @LSUwten and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUwten.