After a thrilling, back-and-forth debut win against Rice last Sunday, the LSU men’s tennis team will ride the momentum into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Kickoff Weekend in Nashville, Tenn.
The No. 23 Tigers (1-0) will join a group of schools that all rank inside the top 20, beginning with their opening-round contest against No. 19 Wake Forest (4-0). The winner of Saturday’s match will advance to face the winner of No. 15 Vanderbilt and No. 20 Texas.
With only one upperclassmen on its roster, junior Chris Simpson, LSU brings youth into a tournament packed with established, experienced tennis programs.
“A couple of those teams are probably better than their ranking,” said coach Jeff Brown. “These teams may be further along with the makeup of their team, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play very well against them and get a win.”
Simpson, a team captain, leads the Tigers into an event in which Vanderbilt boasts the No. 9 ITA-ranked Gonzalez Austin and the No. 2 doubles team in Austin and Ryan Lipman. LSU will see a familiar foe from Mississippi State in No. 20 Romain Bogaerts as the 2013 National Rookie of the Year transferred to Wake Forest this season.
Last Sunday’s season-opener was a learning experience for the Tigers, as it marked the first collegiate matches for freshmen Justin Butsch and Eric Perez.
“What happens in your first matches as a freshman is everything moves really fast,” Brown said. “You notice all the fans, you notice all the noises. The things that are easy in practice, when you add nervousness to it, it makes it very difficult.”
An inspired, come-from-behind effort against the Owls on Sunday told Brown a lot about the Tigers’ potential.
Brown said with time, LSU will gain experience, and competing against stiff competition early in the season will prove beneficial down the road.
“We’re going into it trying to get the most out of it and hopefully that means a win,” Brown said. “But if not, we want to soak up everything that the weekend has to offer.”
Coach Julia Sell’s squad began the Kickoff Weekend by traveling to Coral Gables, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon. Although their stay in sunny South Beach may seem like an early spring break, the trip will be all business for No. 65 LSU this weekend.
The Lady Tigers (2-0) take on No. 59 South Florida (1-0) on Friday afternoon. The matchup will mark the first meeting since 1998 and kicks off a weekend that will be an early quality test for the rebuilt LSU squad.
“The kickoff weekend is something [the Lady Tigers] haven’t played for a few years,” Sell said. “It’s a great opportunity to get a look at some of the top teams. It’s a high-quality event that we’re going down to and it’s just a great chance to see where we’re at.”
The winner of Friday’s match will move on to face the winner of the contest between host-Miami and No. 72 Ohio State. The No. 9 Hurricanes boast the No. 32 ITA-ranked singles player in Stephanie Wagner.
The king of Neil Schiff Tennis Center’s courts this weekend will advance to National Team Indoors on Feb. 7. But LSU is focused on the Bulls.
“We want to get through Friday,” Sell said. “South Florida’s traditionally a really good team. … They’re a tough team and they’re not in a conference so they’re always ranked lower than they should be. They’re scrappy, they’re fighters, they’re coached well.”