It’s time for the LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams to put their rocky regular seasons behind them.Both teams will face Alabama today at their respective Southeastern Conference tournaments to begin their quest to secure NCAA tournament bids.The No. 9-seeded Tigers (7-14, 3-8) face No. 8 Alabama (13-12, 4-7) at 5 p.m. in Lexington, Ky., and the No. 8-seeded Lady Tigers (9-14, 4-7) take on No. 9 Alabama (10-11, 3-8) at 9 a.m. in Athens, Ga.The Tigers lost, 4-3, to the Crimson Tide on the road April 2, and LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown said he expects a similarly tight match today.”They don’t really have any weak spots,” Brown said. “If somebody happens to be off, we need to capitalize and get that guy off the court.”LSU sophomore Neal Skupski, who has defeated nine nationally ranked opponents this season, checked in at No. 52 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released Tuesday.Skupski and junior doubles partner Sebastian Carlsson are ranked No. 55 with a 4-2 record in dual play.”[The SEC tournament] is going to be really tough because the SEC has some of the best tennis players in the country,” Skupski said. “The doubles point is going to be very crucial.”The Tigers were swept in doubles in their first match against Alabama.”Certainly our doubles were horrible that day,” Brown said. “But the one team who has been playing really well over the last few matches has been Sebastian and Neal. It will come down to a point or two in a couple of particular matches.”Brown said they are motivated by their chance to advance in the postseason despite the team’s losing regular season. The Tigers will face No. 1-seeded Tennessee if they beat Alabama.”We’re happy we still have an opportunity to make the NCAA tournament with a win,” Brown said. “It’s worth fighting for.”The Lady Tigers had better fortune in their earlier match against Alabama, as five singles wins propelled them to a 5-2 victory April 2 in Baton Rouge.”We’re not really doing anything different to prepare for them this time around,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “For us to have any shot at making the NCAA tournament, we have to make a run at the SEC tournament.”Freshman Keri Frankenberger is tied with fellow freshman Kaitlin Burns for the team lead with a 13-8 dual record in singles play. The Gainesville, Fla., native has also clinched a team-high three matches.”We’ve struggled a little bit this year, but we’ve kept each other up and had great leadership,” Frankenberger said. “It’s not just about taking care of your court, but also helping the person next to you. We’ve finally grasped that.”Minnis said he expected this season to be challenging for the Lady Tigers because they lost four seniors from the 2008-09 squad, including Megan Falcon, a three-time Louisiana Player of the Year and LSU’s only three-time singles All-American.
But this year’s team “knows what’s at stake” in the SEC tournament, Minnis said. The Lady Tigers will face No. 1-seeded Florida if they beat Alabama.”This year more than ever, the motivation is there to do well,” Minnis said. “Hopefully we can come out with a couple of victories, but it will be a tough assignment.”—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected].