No. 14 LSU women’s tennis (14-5) has their first match of the NCAA championships on Friday, facing off against unranked Boston University (10-1) to start out the tournament. They’ll have the advantage over every team in attendance this weekend, as they are hosting one of the sixteen regionals that are taking place across the country.
From the beginning of the season, there were high expectations for this LSU team. After finishing last season ranked in the top-25, many wondered if LSU could have continued their impressive play had the season not ended abruptly in March.
They found whatever way they could to train throughout quarantine, from training with family to hitting tennis balls against a wall and came out and answered those questions with a resounding “yes.” They learned a lot from last season’s conclusion, with Taylor Bridges stating that they no longer take any matches for granted.
“Ending the season like we did last year just showed us how important every match is and not take anything for granted,” Bridges said. “We are thankful to be in the NCAAs and all our hard work we’ve put in over the months has got us to where we are.”
The team’s hard work has paid off in a tremendous way, as they surpassed the level they were at last season and ultimately made history. They reached the top-10, won the most conference matches in program history and are hosting a regional for the first time ever.
“Being able to host a regional is a big opportunity, not to mention history for our program,” senior Paris Corley said. “We know what we are capable of. Now we just have to go out and execute.”
The Tigers ended the regular season on a four-match win streak and seemed to be in prime position to advance deep into the SEC tournament. But they fell short in the quarterfinals against a strong Tennessee team and missed the opportunity for a rematch against Georgia.
That has likely caused LSU fans to worry, as they will need to beat multiple teams like Tennessee in order to advance far into the NCAA bracket, but according to Corley, the loss has only made them stronger.
“We had things we needed to improve on, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Corley said. “The intensity in our practices leading up to NCAA’s has been excellent and we’ll take this one match at a time.”
A loss right before the championships isn’t always a bad thing, as it gives the team one last chance to work on what needs work and that improvement could be the difference between winning and losing in evenly matched competition like this. With each team ranking between No. 1 and No. 64, there is a large array of teams that can knock off the Tigers if they can’t reduce their weaknesses.
The first team they play doesn’t currently rank in the top-50, but due to a shortened season, there are a lot of unknowns about the matchup. What is known is that the team is on a hot streak, winning their last nine matches and ultimately winning the Patriot League conference tournament.
If the Tigers manage to avoid an upset here, there is a good chance they will face a top-25 opponent Friday in No. 20 Michigan. And the matchups will only continue to get harder and harder as the tournament progresses.
LSU has had a historic season, and they will look to make even more history over the next few weeks. NCAA championship action starts at 1 P.M. and there’s no telling what will end up happening.
