LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said he expects his team to refrain from looking ahead to Friday’s Southeastern Conference home showdown against No. 2 Georgia.That’s because the No. 21 Lady Tigers (10-4, 1-2 SEC) host Oregon (7-8) today at 3 p.m at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium. And a victory could mean a milestone for Minnis.A win against the Ducks would give Minnis his 250th career win.A doubleheader was scheduled for today, with Centenary visiting Baton Rouge for a 7 p.m. matchup, but that was canceled on Monday because Centenary was down to only three women on its roster. The game will not be rescheduled.”This team has been around long enough to know that you don’t take anybody lightly,” Minnis said. “I would fully expect them to come out fully prepared, ready to get after them.”While Oregon has recently struggled, losing five straight matches, they are no stranger to SEC competition. The Ducks lost to then-No. 14 Arkansas, 4-0, in late January and were just defeated by then-No. 16 Alabama, 5-2, on Monday.”The SEC is really tough,” said Oregon coach Paul Reber. “We made this road trip because one, I wanted to come out and play some different schools, some different conferences and two, I’ve known Tony [Minnis] for a while.”Reber said his team will match up well against an LSU team that boasts the No. 14 doubles tandem in LSU seniors Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg. Oregon will counter with No. 39 Ana Cecilia Olivos and Pavlina Smatova.”That’s part of the reason we’re here,” Reber said. “We want to play some teams we’re not super familiar with so we can challenge ourselves and not continually play the same teams over and over.”Hedberg, an Oxnard, Calif., native, got off to a slow start this spring, losing four of her first six singles matches.She has since rebounded and rides a four-match win streak into today.Minnis said he has been impressed with the recent play of Hedberg.”She’s emerging [as a leader], especially these last weeks,” he said. “She’s really stepped up in all aspects of her game both on and off the court, knock on wood.”Minnis said in the beginning of the fall season that Hedberg could emerge as one of the nation’s best players if her singles play reached its potential. Statistically, singles competition has held her from reaching this feat.Hedberg enters today with a career singles record of 58-67, compared to a 24-3 doubles record this season.”Some people are [better at singles than doubles],” Minnis said. “It’s not really that unusual.”Minnis said he expects big things from Hedberg down the stretch because she is peaking at the right time.
 
 
 
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