While LSU was travelling through Mississippi on Wednesday afternoon, men’s tennis coach Jeff Brown was thinking about improvement.
The Tigers lace up for their third fall tournament as a complete team this morning at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern Regional Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The five-day event is another opportunity for LSU to refine its skills — Brown’s goal for the team in the fall.
“It’s a super important time for our team,” Brown said. “It’s a time when you can make changes based on what you see during the matches. And you take a little less risk when you’re making changes in the fall … you don’t want to do as much tinkering with their swings and such during the team season.”
All eight of LSU’s players will join a field of 18 southern regional schools that includes five fellow Southeastern Conference teams.
Even with a squad comprised largely of freshmen and sophomores, Brown said he’s not concerned about lack of experience or immaturity. The young Tigers are motivated, and Brown said he likes the idea that there is room for his team to develop.
“It’s exciting because they’re all very excited,” Brown said. “The buy in has been really good with this team. They’re all on the same page. We don’t really have anybody that’s out in left field … and they’re pushing each other and encouraging each other.”
The most experienced Tiger, No. 29 junior Chris Simpson, leads LSU with five singles victories in two tournaments this fall. Redshirt freshmen John Michael Busch and Eric Perez are still seeking their first wins as Tigers in the main draw of an event.
While Busch and Perez look for that first win, other Tigers are just looking for experience. But with a diverse group, Brown said he realizes individual aspirations for players may differ, but his ultimate objective for the Tigers this time of the year remains the same.
“For the guys that are more capable of playing at the top of the lineup, you’d really like to see them have big breakthrough events where they get past some ranked players and things like that,” Brown said. “And for the other guys, you want them to … improve the level and for them to come out of the fall with confidence.”