The No. 19-ranked Lady Tigers tennis team will begin Southeastern Conference tournament play Thursday after its 7-0 victory over Southern University. It is looking to extend its seven-match win streak.
LSU (16-6,6-5 SEC), who began conference play 0-4, clinched the Western Division Title against Arkansas last Saturday and head to Nashville, Tenn. with its longest winning streak since 1995.
Coach Tony Minnis said he expects Arkansas to be better prepared this match.
“I expect Arkansas to come out and play tough,” he said. “We beat them here less than a week ago, but this is a neutral site. I am sure they are going to play with a lot of intensity.
Minnis said the win streak could be positive for the team.
“[The current winning streak] could be good or bad, depending on how we react to it,” he said. “If we take that and gain some confidence it should help us in our tournament matches.”
Though the team has yet to win a tournament match since 2000, the team’s recent success could set the stage for a possible second-round match against Tennessee.
The team has dominated opponents during the seven-match winning streak and several players have proven capable of playing with the best in the conference.
Senior Jessica Ferguson, who remained the 50th-ranked singles player prior to Thursday, leads the Tigers after being named SEC player of the week for the second time a week ago.
Sophomores Marina Chiarelli and Lauren Seaman carry seven-match singles win streaks into the tournament, and junior Amanda Mang heads into the SEC tournament having won 12 of her last 14 doubles matches including a five-match singles win streak.
With wins over Arkansas and Tennessee, the No. 5 seed Lady Tigers could find themselves in a showdown against No. 1 seed Florida to advance to the conference finals.
A strong performance in the tournament could potentially launch the Lady Tigers into the Top 10, a huge turn-around from being ranked 62nd nearly a month ago.
Both tournament brackets consist of six teams with No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, No. 3 seed Georgia and No. 4 seed Tennessee earning a first-round bye.