The LSU men’s tennis team will open its spring season in New Orleans this weekend against some of the toughest teams in the nation.
The 2008 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships will begin Friday at 8 a.m. at the health club in the Hilton Hotel. All eight SEC teams participating in the event that will end Monday are ranked in the top 60 nationally, including No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 13 Alabama.
The Tigers are No. 19 in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The SEC Coaches Poll announced Wednesday it predicts LSU will finish second in the SEC Western Division behind Ole Miss.
The Tigers have seven letter winners returning this season, including senior Jan Zelezny, who is No. 88. Other seniors are Colt Gaston, ranked No. 98, and LSU team captain Kevin Dessauer.
Freshman Sebastian Carlsson tied Zelezny for the most wins on the team in the fall with 10. Two other highly touted freshmen are Julien Gauthier and Ryan Lissner.
“Sebastian had a great record in the fall, and he’s looking to continue his solid play,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “Julien has had great results and will be facing some tough competition, and Ryan has been battling a wrist injury so he is ready to test it out.”
The SEC Championships will also feature the highly-anticipated debut of LSU junior Michael Venus, who was ineligible to play this past season. Venus transferred from Texas prior to this past season and helped the Longhorns win the Big 12 Championship in 2006.
“Michael [Venus] is ready get going as a Tiger,” Brown said. “We’re excited to have him out on the court representing us.”
Meanwhile, the women’s tennis team will travel to Charlottesville, Va., to play in the Virginia Classic, an exhibition to get ready for the regular season.
That tournament also begins Friday at 8 a.m. and concludes Sunday. Purdue, Wake Forest and Virginia will also participate in the three-day tournament.
Junior singles star Megan Falcon and the doubles team of Mykala Hedberg and Staten Spencer highlight the team’s top returnees. Falcon finished 5-2 this fall and is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation and No. 1 in the ITA Southwest Region.
Hedberg and Spencer start the spring at No. 30 in the ITA doubles rankings. They upset No. 21 Vanderbilt in the SEC Coaches Classic en route to a 3-1 record in the fall.
LSU coach Tony Minnis said the team has matured a great deal since this past year, and they have a good idea of what they want to accomplish in 2008.
“We had a very young team last year,” Minnis said. “We have one of the toughest schedules this year. It’s a great opportunity to get out and get some match play experience before the official season starts.”
In the women’s SEC preseason coaches poll, LSU was also picked to finish second in the SEC West behind Arkansas.