BATON ROUGE, La. — With the highest ranking in school history, the ninth-ranked LSU women’s tennis team (11-3) opens Southeastern Conference play on the road against No. 38 Alabama (4-4) at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.
“We are excited to head into our SEC season,” co-head coach Julia Sell said. “This year the SEC is stronger than ever with eight teams in the top 25. We are looking forward to the battles ahead.
The opening of conference play marks one of the most difficult stretches of matches in the country. All 14 teams found spots in the latest ITA/Oracle rankings.
The Lady Tigers look to build off of an impressive opening non-conference start. The first 14 matches of the season featured wins over No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 24 Georgia Tech. The win over the Cowgirls at the ITA Team Indoor Championships was the fifth top-10 win for the program in the last 24 years.
LSU is led on court one by No. 20 Joana Vale Costa. The junior has locked the top court with a 10-2 record this spring. Vale Costa also has two ranked wins so far.
Sophomore Ryann Foster has impressed during her first season in Baton Rouge. Foster is 12-0 this spring between courts three and four. The Sunrise, Florida native has won 14 straight matches dating back to the fall.
Abby Owens is 9-3 during the spring and most recently clinched LSU’s victory over No. 37 Arizona. Owens defeated the Wildcats’ Kinga Garnter 6-4, 6-4 for the clinch.
Skylar Holloway and Ella Taylor have impressed in doubles play. The duo is 8-4 in dual matches and carries a four-match win streak into conference play. Most recently, Holloway and Taylor clinched the doubles point against Arizona, 7-5, to create momentum into singles play.
Alabama is coming off of a 4-0 loss to Oklahoma State at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic. The Crimson Tide also reached the ITA Team Indoor Championships in February but finished 0-3 for the weekend. Andie Daniell and Erin Routliffe have split time on court one so far this season. Daniell is ranked 38th in the ITA singles poll.
Last season, the teams clashed in an epic battle at ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium with Alabama coming out on top, 5-2. It was a tight contest as four of six singles courts went to a third set. LSU owns the all-time series with 28 wins and just 15 losses although Alabama is on a five-match win streak dating back to the 2010 season.
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