For most student-athletes who come to LSU, their freshmen years are filled with expectations of playing without any collegiate experience or choosing to red-shirt and sit the year out.
But on the women’s and men’s tennis teams, incoming freshmen are given the chance to play and gain valuable experience months before the season opener.
The fall schedule for tennis consists of a handful of tournaments coaches use to work with their players. The tournament matches, which are not counted against the team’s overall record, are used to evaluate each player’s performance.
“The thing that I like about the fall schedule is – unlike football and baseball where players go right into the season and play – we get a chance to look at all the players to see where they are at,” said LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis. “It gives us the opportunity to evaluate some of the newer players on the team, and it gives them a chance to get some playing time underneath their belt before the season starts.”
With a roster that consists of four true freshmen and a sophomore who has never played collegiate tennis before, the women’s tennis fall schedule may have been just what Minnis needed to get the team ready for its season opener Jan. 27.
Minnis said he has worked with all of the players, especially the freshmen, and continues to see improvement in all areas except one.
“The one area that we need to improve on is consistent poise,” Minnis said. “The youth that has shown this fall has not been anything strategy or stroke wise but more getting flustered in key situations. This fall we have spent a lot of time working on strokes and fundamentals, but the one thing we are going to emphasize for this last tournament is maintaining poise in adverse situations.”
According to assistant coach Lisa Jackson, who joined the team this past year, the fall tournament schedule gave her the chance to bond with players she has never coached.
“I think it has worked out really well this year,” Jackson said. “With us having five new girls and me being the new coach too, it couldn’t have worked out any better. Just being able to work with them one-on-one and going on different tournaments, I have been able to spend a lot of time with them. I think it has just been really great the way it has been set up, [and it] has worked well just getting us closer to the players.”
As the Lady Tigers get prepared to travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to begin the three-day Southeastern Conference Coaches Classic today, some of the players on the team have noticed considerable improvements in the way their teammates play.
Junior Tiffany Tucker said the team has worked very hard to play up to its potential and said this fall has been a good test for the entire team. She also said she has seen improvements in some of the younger players over the course of each tournament.
“Fall is the time where you train hard to get better and try new things; and if you need to change something, then you change it,” Tucker said. “Everyone has done well, but I think Sloane [Mathis] has improved the most. Being our only walk-on, she has really shown the entire team her potential just through hitting a bunch of tennis balls and just practicing well every day.”
Sunday’s matches will be the final competition for the Lady Tigers until Jan. 12 when they participate in the Michigan Classic.
Minnis said the lay-off should not affect the team’s level of play and said he has enjoyed this semester and really has been pleased with the success of the team.
“This is a group of girls that really want to win and want to be successful,” Minnis said. “They are really hungry, and it’s a lot of fun to work with them. They just need to maintain focus and play with the expectations and confidence that they’ve been showing.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]