The LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams waited Tuesday in eager anticipation to hear where they would play in the 2008 NCAA Championships. Both teams were excited when the brackets were announced on the annual NCAA tennis tournament selection show on ESPNews. The No. 18 Tigers (14-8, 6-5) will travel to Champaign, Ill., and face No. 46 Drake in the first round May 9 at 3 p.m. Drake is unblemished 24-0 this season and capped the best season in school history with its third-straight Missouri Valley Conference title. LSU men’s tennis coach Jeff Brown said although Drake is a much smaller school, the Tigers are not discounting the team’s talent. “They don’t play in the Southeastern Conference, but you have to take a strong look at a team that is undefeated,” Brown said. The No. 27 Lady Tigers (14-9, 6-5) will face No. 42 Washington State on May 9 at 4 p.m. in Berkeley, Calif. LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said the team does not know too much about the Cougars, but he is optimistic about the draw. “The one thing you want to do at this time of the year is to see teams you haven’t seen throughout the course of the season,” Minnis said. “I’ll have to do some research and find out about them.” Sophomore Nicole Kantor said the team will be ready to work hard after being eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament this past year. “Even though finals are coming up, everyone is going to be practicing at 110 percent in the next week to prepare before the matches,” Kantor said. Duke defeated the Lady Tigers, 4-1, in 2007, ending their first run to the NCAA tournament since 2004. Minnis said he feels confident the team is ready to make a run in this year’s tournament. “We’re happy to get this opportunity,” Minnis said. “We’re at full strength now after we’ve been banged up for a good portion of the year.” If the Tigers defeat Drake, No. 15 Illinois looms as the probable next opponent if the Fighting Illini beat Xavier in their first-round match. LSU traveled to Champaign for its first road match this season and lost, 6-1. Senior team captain Kevin Dessauer said although it would have been ideal to host a first-round match, having to play on the road should not have an impact on the team’s play. “If we’re going to go on the road, it might as well be some place we’ve already been,” Dessauer said. Junior Michael Venus said the matches in Illinois will be played outdoors instead of indoors, where Illinois defeated the Tigers. “It will be outside this time, which is good because [Illinois is] definitely better indoors,” Venus said. Venus has moved up two spots to No. 26 in singles rankings released April 28, and Venus and doubles partner James Cluskey jumped two spots to No. 16. Both men will represent LSU in the Division I NCAA Individual Championships beginning May 21. On the women’s side, the No. 15 Falcon will compete in the NCAA Individual Championships for the second consecutive year, and Falcon will team with doubles partner junior Mykala Hedberg after the duo went 12-4 this season.
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