The LSU women’s tennis coaching staff might be having flashbacks when the Tigers begin regular season play against Louisiana-Lafayette and Prairie View A&M on Saturday at the W.T. ‘Dub’ Robinson Stadium.
Coach Tony Minnis is ULL’s all-time singles leader with 94 career wins from 1984-1988.
Minnis said he will not have any old friends in the stands this weekend, but the 1988 team did scrimmage with this year’s ULL team at a reunion last year.
“Those guys really showed us up out there,” Minnis said. “I felt really old by the end of that match.”
LSU assistant coach Lisa Jackson served as ULL’s head coach the past two years. Jackson led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 10-9 record last season, its first winning record since 2001.
“I have great respect for their team and what Lisa was able to do with it,” Minnis said. “We had some tough matches against them last year, and they have only gotten better.”
The Tigers defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns 7-0 last year, improving their record to 20-0 all-time against ULL.
Minnis said despite LSU’s past success against ULL, he expects his team to be focused and play with high intensity.
“The sport of tennis has the type of depth where it isn’t unusual to see a No. 60 beat a No. 20,” Minnis said. “I expect us to bring our ‘A’ game.”
LSU experienced that situation in 2004 when the No. 20 Tigers were beaten by an unranked Southern Methodist team.
“We came out a little bit too relaxed early in past seasons and took a couple tough losses,” Minnis said. “Our goal from day one has been to play at a certain level of intensity and competitiveness. Hopefully we can improve in that.”
The Tigers experienced some difficulties last week in their final preseason appearance. LSU went winless in 15 singles matches and 1-5 in doubles matches.
“We have worked a lot this week on footwork and serving,” Minnis said. “Tennis is a sport where you can’t be pulled if you are having a bad day, so we have to consistently work on basic aspects of the game. The team fundamentals have definitely improved since September.”
LSU lost last season’s top player, Amanda Mang. Freshman Mykala Hedberg played well in the fall and is a candidate to be the Tigers’ top player.
“I’m looking forward to coming out here and trying to get used to the regular season atmosphere,” Hedberg said. “I need to improve on my serve and especially my forehand this weekend.
Senior Marina Chiarelli missed last weekend’s match in Michigan, but is ready to compete this weekend.
“I have practiced really hard this week to be ready to play,” Chiarelli said. “We need to start with a good intensity and carry it through the rest of the season.”
LSU will start against Prairie View A&M at 9 a.m. and follow with ULL at 1 p.m.
 
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