Nicole Kantor knows she has Shaquille O’Neal-sized shoes to fill.The LSU women’s tennis team lost former All-American Megan Falcon and senior Mykala Hedberg last May, leaving Kantor, a senior from St. Louis, as the most experienced player on the Lady Tigers’ roster.After capturing the Flight 1 singles title Sunday at the Hoosier Classic, Kantor heads west this weekend to compete in the pre-qualifiers of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif.Kantor is the only LSU player competing in the tournament this weekend, which starts Saturday.The prequalifiers will conclude Sunday, with the qualifying round running Oct. 6-7, and the main draw set to begin Oct. 11.”Obviously, they are really big shoes to fill … and I’m going to do my best to try and replace them,” said Kantor, who entered this year with a 61-46 career record.Kantor spent most of last year behind Falcon and Hedberg in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the Lady Tigers’ singles lineup, but she knocked off three No. 1 players en route to her first singles title of the year last weekend.”I’ve been really pleased with what she’s done so far,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “She should gain a lot of confidence [from last weekend].”Kantor will have her hands full this weekend and will have to win six matches to advance to the main draw.The pre-qualifying round has 64 players, with eight advancing to the qualifying round of 64.Eight members of the qualifying round will join 24 at-large selections for a shot at the ITA All-American championship.”It’s a lot of matches, and it’s all really tough,” Kantor said. “Everyone there is really good.”Minnis said this weekend will be a great opportunity for Kantor to spread her name in to the tennis world.”Every win is going to be against a ranked player, so if she can somehow manage to win a few matches, it will help her to establish her ranking,” he said.Kantor agreed establishing a ranking during the fall is one of her main goals.”That would be a huge confidence booster going into the spring being ranked,” she said.While Kantor’s recent success has her in line to be the heir apparent to Falcon and Hedberg in terms of being LSU’s top player, Minnis has been impressed with her role off the court.”Starting out like she did, she set a great example,” Minnis said. “I’ve been really proud of her.”Kantor said she has also tried to help the Lady Tigers’ three newcomers — freshmen Kaitlin Burns, Ebie Wilson and Keri Frankenberger — develop as players.”I’ve shown them to compete at your hardest and find ways to win even if your not at your ‘A’ game,” Kantor said.Her guidance has seemingly rubbed off on at least one freshman, as Wilson captured her first collegiate singles championship, winning the Flight 3 title at the Hoosier Classic.Kantor said she hopes to use the tournament as a way to fine-tune her game against quality opponents.”Something I’m hoping to do … is [to play] how I feel comfortable playing,” she said. “Getting the ball deep and attacking anytime I can.”—————Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]