LSU women’s tennis had a brief fall season, finishing every event within a one-month span. Despite that, they played well, especially Senior Paris Corley, who finished the fall season with a 7-2 doubles record, an 8-1 singles record and a singles title.
Through three invitationals, Corley has been electric. She kicked off the season at TCU, where she remained perfect for the first two days before losing to Baylor’s Jessica Hinojosa in a tight match that came down to tiebreakers.
After that first invitational, Corley stated that she was excited to see where she was because she knew where she needed to improve. Whatever she chose to improve on, it worked, because she would not drop another singles match in the fall.
Two weeks later, the team traveled to Texas once again, visiting College Station to attend the Texas A&M Invitational. Corley not only won every singles match that she played in, but every set, finishing with a combined score of 33-10 against her opponents.
These weren’t easy matches either, with Corley earning wins againstAll-American transfer Kaitlin Staines of Texas Tech. Corley was excited about her play after the invitational and had clearly found her groove, taking advantage of the limited season while she could.
“Having a strong start to the season feels great,” Corley said. “I think as the matches go by, I’m starting to find my game more and more. It’s great that we have been able to have such competition with everything going on so I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity.”
She continued where she left off last weekend in Tuscaloosa. Sets might have been closer this time, but they never went against her favor. She holds a twelve-set win streak going into the spring season.
While Corley was dominating the last fall season of her career, another was experiencing her first. Freshman Samantha Buyckx showed a lot of potential this fall and could play a large role once the seniors leave.
Buyckx had her ups and downs over the fall, particularly in singles. She finished singles with a 3-5 record but made up for it with her performances in doubles, where she had an impressive 7-2 record. She has been excited with how the team has supported her at the beginning of her college tennis career and acknowledged that she has a lot of room to grow.
“So far my tennis experience at LSU has been amazing,” Buyckx said. “Everyone has been so nice and supportive both on and off the court. From a performance standpoint, my matches have been very competitive, and I know there is so much more to grow in my game.”
The Tigers managed to complete their fall season while facing zero problems with COVID-19, which is a blessing. The team has a long way to go before competing again, with the spring season starting in January, but they have more than enough time to get where they need to be.
