Baton Rouge, La. – The LSU women’s tennis team (2-7, 1-3 SEC) return to the LSU Tennis Complex as they host the Kentucky Wildcats (12-5, 0-4 SEC) at 11 a.m. CT on Friday morning before ending the weekend with an 11 a.m. matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-4, 1-3 SEC) on Sunday morning.
Admission to home matches at the LSU Tennis Complex is free of charge with gates opening one hour before start time. Friday’s match will feature a giveaway of free LSU hand fans and Sunday’s match will have free pastalaya available to those attending the match while supplies last.
Kentucky (Mar. 18)
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Vanderbilt (Mar. 20)
Vs. Kentucky
Kentucky and LSU will meet for the 44th time in program series history on Friday, with the Tigers holding a narrow 22-21 advantage in previous meetings. When the teams met last season at Kentucky, LSU claimed a come from behind 4-3 win with singles wins from Safiya Carrington, Nina Geissler, and a match clinch from Maggie Cubitt.
The Wildcats enter the match ranked at No. 52 in the ITA Team Rankings with a 12-5 record and seeking their first SEC win of the season. When the team was in action last weekend, they fell to Missouri by a score of 4-3 and defeated Bellarmine University 4-0 in a Friday night double header before dropping Sunday’s match to Arkansas, 6-1.
Kentucky’s Florencia Urrutia has enjoyed a stellar singles season in the spring and leads the Wildcats with a 13-1 singles record playing primarily at the No. 4 spot. In doubles play, the Wildcats have claimed 12 of a possible 17 doubles point and have their No. 1 and No. 2 doubles team each boasts 7 wins this dual season.
Vs. Vanderbilt
The Commodores hold a 29-16 lead in the series, but the Tigers have claimed the last two straight. When the teams met in Nashville last season, LSU clinched a top 10 win over No. 9 Vanderbilt, 4-2, with singles wins from Carrington, Cubitt, and Geissler.
The Commodores enter the weekend ranked No. 44 in the country with a 9-4 record, 1-3 in SEC play. Last time out, Vanderbilt dropped Friday’s match against Arkansas, 4-3, before bouncing back with a 5-1 win over Missouri on Sunday.
Vanderbilt boasts a strong singles lineup with their usual No. 1 and No. 2 singles players ranked in the ITA Singles Rankings. Anna Ross currently sits at 12-4 on the overall season and is ranked No. 46 while teammate Anessa Lee sits at No. 64 with a 16-7 record on the year.
Tiger Tidbits
LSU enters the weekend with a 2-7 record on the season. Last weekend, LSU dropped Friday’s match against Ole Miss, 4-1, before picking up their first SEC win of the season with a 4-1 win at Mississippi State.
Ena Babic sits at No. 89 in the ITA Singles Rankings. Babic leads the team in overall singles win with an 8-5 record and has one ranked win to her name this season.
Social Media
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program follow the Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten , on Instagram @LSUWTen , and on www.Facebook.com/lsuwten.