The Alabama women’s tennis team is looking for another dominating performance in Southeastern Conference play as it travels to Baton Rouge to take on the No. 43 LSU Tigers.
The Tide is coming off of a dominating 5-2 win over the No. 18 ranked Ole Miss Rebels and are looking to capture their third straight win in SEC play.
“I think we are playing with a lot of confidence right now,” head coach Jenny Mainz said. “I think that we faced a lot of great non-conference opponents, two top-ten teams, and it has helped us so far in conference play.”
The Tide’s strongest area so far has been doubles play, in which Alabama has been able to dominate early on in the season.
“I think that we are doing a good job of getting on top of our opponent early and getting the doubles point,” sophomore Alex Clay said. “We need to start early in singles, and I think we can further our success.”
A key contributor so far in the Tide’s early success has been Antonia Foehse. Foehse, a junior from Waldbroel, Germany, is currently undefeated in singles and doubles since the start of SEC play.
“[Antonia] has been able to play much higher in the lineup,” Mainz said. “She has been able to play the five and even the four spot against our conference opponents. She’s been an aggressor, and she’s really been proactive, and I think it has given her a lot of confidence.”
The Tide will need plenty of confidence and poise going into this weekend’s matchup against the Tigers in what Mainz and her players call a hostile territory.
“I remember playing LSU when I was in college at the University of Houston,” Mainz said. “It was fierce fans every time, and they were very engaged and still are. But I think we are mentally tough and have a mature enough team to continue what we started in SEC play.”
Clay echoed Mainz’s sentiments.
“They are always a good team,” Clay said. “They are always very feisty, and Baton Rouge is going to have some intense crowds so we just have to play like we’ve been playing all along, with confidence.”
Senior Taylor Lindsey said the camaraderie has helped the team play hard and dominate in early conference matches.
“I think that we all have each other’s back,” Lindsey said. “It doesn’t matter if someone does not play well on a given day, we all have a will to go out and fight.”
Alabama will have to be relentless this weekend as it takes on the No. 43 ranked Tigers. Mainz said she is confident that her team is ready to take on a fierce SEC opponent like LSU.
“I have a lot of faith that this team is ready to continue what we started last weekend with SEC play,” she said. “We are playing with a lot of confidence, momentum and we keep getting better each week.”
