After spending the beginning of the 2016-17 season on the road, the Lady Tigers are ready to return to their home court.
The Lady Tigers host the 2016 LSU Fall Classic this weekend, with their first match today against Rice University at 3 p.m. at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Rice finished the 2015-16 season ranked No. 28 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s College Tennis Rankings. Other than Rice, Princeton and Tulane will compete in the weekend tournament beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
“It’s such a luxury to have a facility like this and to be able to host tournaments with teams that want to come and play,” LSU coach Julia Sell said. “The girls don’t have to travel and miss class. All of their families are coming into town, and their friends are going to come out and watch. It’s just an absolute perfect situation for them.”
The team has not been at full strength this fall with the absence of two of three blue chip recruits LSU signed in its 2016 recruiting class, Raveena Kingsley and Jade Lewis. Kingsley was the No. 2 recruit in the nation when she signed with LSU last year, and Lewis was ranked 10th.
Sell said the recruits’ absence has been an awkward situation for the team, but she has high expectations for their arrival next spring.
Kingsley and Lewis have been competing in non-collegiate tournaments this fall that have pushed their premieres back.
“They’re two really experienced players,” Sell said. “They’ve traveled the world playing not just in junior tournaments, but in professional events. They are as seasoned as junior tennis players could be coming into college tennis.”
However, Sell isn’t downsizing the skills and development of the current roster.
“They’ve gotten better match by match, and I think Skylar Holloway has really emerged this fall and is playing some of her best tennis,” Sell said. “Ryann Foster worked really hard over the summer, and you can see how much it has elevated her game.”
Holloway, a senior, made it to the consolation finals of the ITA Southern Regional on Oct. 17. The University of Louisiana Monroe’s Tiffany Mylonas defeated Holloway 6-0, 4-6, 12-10, in the consolation finals.
“I’ve played in two tournaments already and those went very well,” Holloway said. “Headed into this last one, I’m really looking forward to it. We have this brand new facility, so it just gives us a lot more opportunities to host.”
Holloway has also tried to develop a leadership role on the team this season.
“Some day people need more encouragement than others,” she said. So I’ve just tried to help build them up. Being a senior, you have to set the example, because you’ve been here for four years and you know what you’re supposed to do.”
Another Lady Tiger who has had a memorable season thus far is Foster, a junior.
She competed at the pre-qualifying stage of the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships but fell in the round of 16 in the consolation round at that tournament. Ohio State’s Anna Sanford defeated Foster 6-3, 6-4.
“This fall has been really great,” Foster said. “I’ve gotten an opportunity to play in a lot of matches, which is always good for me. I went to California and played in an amazing tournament. It’s awesome to be able to host our last tournament of the fall here.”
Coach Sell will look for potential doubles tandems this weekend, citing that as something the team needs to work on heading into the spring.
“We have several really good options right now, and I think we’re going to mix them up this weekend and see just who looks the best together going into the spring,” Sell said. “That’ll all change when the other two players get here.”