The LSU women’s and men’s tennis team will hit the road for a final time in the regular season, as they take on Texas A&M’s No. 19 women’s team and No. 11 men’s team at 1.30 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
For the No. 18 Lady Tigers, the matchup marks the sequel of a nail-biting series.
After falling 3-4 in last year’s regular season match at home, LSU got its rematch in the SEC Semifinals, upsetting then-No. 7 Texas A&M, 4-3, on April 17, 2015.
“This year, they’re just as good, if not better, but so are we,” said LSU co-head coach Julia Sell. “We’re expecting another battle. We’re travel partners, so we play the same teams every weekend. We both had our up days and down days. Now, it’s all about how our team matches up with theirs. It certainly won’t be easy.”
In the rankings, they could not be any closer. The Lady Tigers are one spot ahead, while both teams have a tied conference record and 9 total losses.
Sell said the team is looking to leave behind its occasionally tentative mentality in doubles play. With the last two matches having come down to the wire, the doubles point can quickly turn out to be the deciding factor.
“We just have to keep working on getting energy in doubles, keep the same intensity in singles and just really focus on taking care of our court,” said senior Ella Taylor. “It’s getting to the end of the season, so we just need to mentally lock in. If we do that, the win will speak for itself.”
The LSU men’s team is currently riding a roller coaster that only goes up.
While the Aggies mark the team’s second-highest ranked opponent of the season, the Tigers hold a three-game winning streak. The win streak has alleviated most of the pressure of making the NCAA Championships, and their confidence has reached a new high.
“Everybody’s dialed in,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “There’s no doubt there’s a mentality that everybody has got each other’s back. They’ve come a long way and, I give a lot of credit to them for taking it upon themselves quite a bit.”
The matchup also marks the team’s third road game in a row, with the most recent being a 4-2 upset against then-No. 20 Kentucky.
The Tigers find many positives in closing their regular season with highly ranked teams on the road, especially with postseason tournaments being no different.
“It’s really good to end the season with a pretty high ranked opponent like A&M,” said junior Jordan Daigle. “It gives us a little extra motivation to end the season with a good win and is a great lead up to SEC’s and NCAA’s.”
Against the Aggies, LSU looks for its progress to reach positive performances throughout all courts. So far, the Tigers had to rely on strong doubles play and secured team wins with singles victories on only certain courts, while other players struggled.
“I don’t think we’ve had one match this whole year where everybody’s played really well, and the whole team has come together at the same time,” Daigle said. “The biggest key is just everybody focusing on their own match and taking care of business.”