Out with the old and in with the new.A new era of tennis will be unveiled this weekend in Houston as the LSU men’s tennis team opens its season at the Rice Invitational at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.The Tigers, who lost All-American Michael Venus to graduation in May, will showcase three freshmen at the weekend-long tournament, which starts at 9 a.m. today.The tournament is separated into flights, with each competitor guaranteed to play in three singles and three doubles matches throughout the weekend.”It’s a chance to get some of these guys, which a lot of them are first time freshman and their first time competing … to play that many matches and see what they need to work on in practice,” said LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown. The three freshmen on display will be Stefan Szacinski, James Turbervill and Roger Anderson.Brown said Szacinski, an Adelaide, Australia, native, has a chance to make a big splash this year.”He’s a very good athlete, and he competes with a very good head on his shoulders,” Brown said. “We’re going to see him improve as the semester goes on and he gets more match experience.”Junior Sebastian Carlsson and sophomore Neal Skupski are the only two Tigers who won’t make the trip.Carlsson and Skupski, who debuted at No. 18 in doubles of the ITA Preseason Rankings, will stay behind in Baton Rouge to practice together.The duo notched a 4-2 record last fall before Skupski joined rackets with Venus en route to doubles All-America honors and a No. 4 doubles ranking.”He left a legacy of hard work, which I still think is with us,” Brown said, referring to Venus’ work ethic. “Some of the guys will pick up on it and be able to use it.”Tulane, Southern Methodist and host Rice are among the competing teams.Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers will also fashion their own young talent this weekend in the Southeastern Conference Fall Classic in Nashville, Tenn.LSU will send three freshmen and sophomore Whitney Wolf to compete in the weekend long tournament.”It’s a good chance for us to get to know them better and see how they respond under pressure … to a very tough tournament for the first time,” said LSU assistant coach Lisa Jackson.The pressure the Tigers will face this season is a conference that sent 11 of its 12 teams to the NCAA tournament last spring, something Jackson said is crucial.”It will give them a good idea on how it is to compete during the regular season,” she said.Freshmen Ebie Wilson, Keri Frankenberger and Kaitlin Burns will make their debut in purple and gold for the Lady Tigers.While all eyes will be on the freshmen, Jackson and coach Tony Minnis will keep a close eye on Wolf.Wolf was a five-star recruit and the No. 36 junior player in the country before coming to LSU, but she struggled during her freshman year with a 15-19 singles record.Jackson said Wolf spent countless hours in the offseason to prove she was worthy of being dubbed Louisiana’s top-ranked junior in 2008.”Whitney really worked hard over the summer,” Jackson said. “I know she’s excited to show the improvements she’s made.”—-Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]