The Lady Tigers will enter W. T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium Saturday with their first 6-0 record since 1999, and it is more than a cliché to say that the players on the bottom of the roster are just as important as the ones on the top.
Lauren Seaman, Camila Caliari and Daysi Espinal, who share assignments at the two lowest spots in singles and doubles, are undefeated in both categories. The three have a combined record of 12-0 in singles and share a 7-0 record in doubles.
LSU coach Tony Minnis said the past teams he coached did not have this much talent from top to bottom.
“The strength of our team used to be the stars,” Minnis said. “Now we have a more balanced team, and that makes us better in some ways.”
Minnis said that change is an improvement for team competition.
“In tennis, whether you’re No. 1 or No. 6, it counts as only one point,” Minnis said. “So you can have the No. 1 player in the country and she can win every match for you, but it will only count as one point. In the past I’ve been a little uncomfortable with some bottom spots on the roster. Now we don’t have any holes.”
That balance will come in handy against Houston, which lost to only one team in duals this season.
“At this point, we can win each match or lose each match,” Minnis said. “Houston is a tough opponent. We try to schedule as many quality teams as we can to prepare our team [for the SEC and NCAA tournaments].”
The men’s team will be increasingly reliant on depth as well. The men host UL-Lafayette on Saturday and Southeastern Louisiana and Centenary on Sunday.
Men’s coach Jeff Brown said he may change his entire roster, as he did in LSU’s first doubleheader this season, because depth is important when playing consecutive games.
Brown said he will definitely play everyone again on Sunday, barring unforeseen circumstances such as injuries.
Brown shuffled his entire roster when the Tigers hosted their first double-header against Southern and Southern Mississippi two weeks ago.
In their match against USM, Brown changed his roster so dramatically that no Tiger played in the same position for both games.
Brown’s strategy paid off. The Tigers handily defeated USM 7-0 and were equally as impressive against Southern, winning 6-1.
Brown said the depth is effective now for resting players in doubleheaders, but it generally loses its effectiveness at tournaments near the end of the season.
“It helps now, no doubt about it,” Brown said. “But when it gets down to the SEC tournament or the NCAA tournament, we need to put out our six or seven best every time.”
Brown said he does not look past any of the three teams the Tigers play this week, especially UL-Lafayette.
“We’re not into that; we know how much depth there is in college tennis,” Brown said. “Any time a team is ranked in the Top 75 you have to respect them.”
The men host UL-Lafayette at 2 p.m. Saturday, while Southeastern Louisiana and Centenary come to town on Sunday at noon and 4 p.m.