After two weeks of idleness, No. 27 LSU will host a pair of doubleheaders this weekend at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium.
The Tigers (1-2) return to action against North Florida (1-3) on Saturday afternoon followed by Liberty (2-0). The weekend will provide plenty of matchplay as LSU wraps up the slate against Southern Miss (4-2) and Jackson State (0-3) on Sunday.
Following their two losses to then-No. 19 Wake Forest and No. 15 Vanderbilt at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Kickoff Weekend, the Tigers took advantage of their long break by refining their skills for the home-opener.
“We’re excited,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “Sometimes you want to get right back out there and play after the kickoff event. We’re glad the schedule worked out the way that it did, having some time to improve and work on some things.”
Looking to get back to its winning ways, LSU’s first contest of the weekend comes against a UNF squad that played No. 12 Florida tough in its 5-2 season-opening loss.
The Ospreys’ record doesn’t indicate the quality of the Tigers’ opponent, and a subsequential meeting against Liberty’s No. 26 doubles team of Shea Thomas and Jorge Azuero will test LSU’s longevity, Brown said.
“We’ll have to use all of our fitness by the end of the day, and then we’ll test our rebound ability,” Brown said.
While having four matches in a two-day span may open up opportunities to shift around the lineup, Brown said he doesn’t look too much into such adjustments.
For LSU to bounce back from its string of losses, Brown said it’s as simple as just stepping back on the court.
“If we’re able to get some confidence against some good teams coming up this weekend, then we’ll be able to go into that time off with a good feeling and continue to work hard,” Brown said.
More eyes than usual will be on the Lady Tigers this Saturday as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on No. 27 FSU.
For the first time in program history, the Lady Tigers’ match will appear on ESPN3 in a United States Tennis Association series called College MatchDay. The weekly series kicks off with Saturday’s matchup between the No. 60 Lady Tigers (4-1) and the Seminoles (3-2) at 11 a.m.
LSU is one of just six schools that will be featured on ESPN3 during the College MatchDay event, which is a unique opportunity for coach Julia Sell and her team.
“We’re a building program, so to be able to show people how much we’ve changed in just a year’s time is going to be great for recruiting… and re-exciting people about LSU women’s tennis,” Sell said. “My phone’s been going off all week with people like, ‘Wow. How impressive is that? You’re going to be on ESPN.’”
Saturday’s contest will follow a different format different from the ITA’s experimental rules that have been practiced throughout the 2014 season. In this weekend’s matches, singles will precede doubles, meaning if a team reaches four points during singles play, doubles matches are scratched. Consequently, any doubles matches played will consist of a 10-point tiebreaker.
Beyond the excitement of playing on television, the Lady Tigers will face a formidable foe in FSU. In her 10th season as the Seminoles’ coach, Jennifer Hyde heads a program completely comprised of international players.
“It’s one of those teams you have to out-compete them and outplay them,” Sell said. “It challenges you to the fullest. But we’re ready to prove ourselves. We’ve got a really ambitious group that’s ready to go out there and leave their hearts on the court.”