Fresh off its upset of No. 29 Alabama over the weekend, the LSU women’s tennis team plays its last two in-state matches of the regular season today and tomorrow.
The Lady Tigers have won their last three matches on the road at Purdue, Auburn and Alabama.
LSU swept the doubles point for the third consecutive match against Alabama on Sunday. Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker cruised to an 8-1 victory against Robin Stephenson and Natalie McElveen on court No. 1. Amanda Mang and Staten Spencer defeated Ashley Bentley and Melissa Minor 8-3 to clinch the point for LSU.
Tucker defeated McElveen in singles play 6-2, 6-2, to win her fifth straight singles match. Camila Caliari also extended her winning streak to six matches with a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of Andrea Brenes to give LSU a 3-0 lead.
Maria Chiarelli clinched the victory for the Lady Tigers with a 6-3, 7-6 win against Mari Muller.
LSU (10-9, 3-7 Southeastern Conference) hosts Louisiana-Lafayette today at 3 p.m. at the W.T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium.
Louisiana-Lafayette (7-7) has won four consecutive matches to even its record.
LSU already defeated Louisiana-Lafayette earlier this season 7-0 and holds a 20-0 all-time record against LSU coach Tony Minnis’ alma mater.
“We beat them earlier in the year,” Minnis said. “But ULL is coming off four straight wins and has really picked its program up.”
The Lady Tigers travel to New Orleans tomorrow to face No. 19 Tulane.
Tulane (15-5) is led by No. 46 Jenny Kuhn and No. 97 Nancy Kockott in singles play. Sisters Maria and Darya Ivanov are ranked No. 46 in doubles play for the Green Wave.
“Tulane is a really good team,” Minnis said. “They have a lot of experienced players who are great competitors. It will be a tough atmosphere but we really look forward to the competition.”
The Green Wave won the last meeting between the two teams last season, 5-2. But the Lady Tigers hold the all-time advantage against Tulane with a 28-3 record.
This is the last week of the regular season for the Lady Tigers, who finish up at Arkansas on Saturday.
“These are big matches for us,” Minnis said. “We just need to come out and play with the same intensity we’ve shown the last few matches and we should be successful.”