By Jordan Bannister
The Alabama women’s tennis team will host the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs today at 3 p.m.
After the Crimson Tide’s most recent loss in Arkansas, Alabama will have to pick up the pace on the court.
“Last Sunday was disappointing,” said head coach Jenny Mainz. “I didn’t feel like we showed up, and I did not feel like we fought hard. We get these chances every week, and we’ve got to take them. The objective is to go out and absolutely compete in every position.”
One of the exceptions to the discontent was sophomore Courtney McLane. She won her fifth singles match in a row against Kate Lukomskaya of Arkansas and doesn’t plan to let up.
“When I’m playing confident tennis, I’m usually doing pretty well,” she said. “It stems from a lot of things, having some really good practices and the coaches having faith in me. Confidence is the bottom line.”
MSU is coming off a five-match losing streak, most recently falling to No. 14 Tennessee, 7-0. The Bulldogs tend to win and lose matches in waves rather than keep a consistent balance of victory. They stand at 9-9 so far this season, 1-7 in the SEC.
Alabama won’t put it past the Bulldogs to come up short in this match because Mississippi State is hungry for redemption. Last year, the Tide beat MSU 7-0, and they haven’t forgotten the battle.
“It was the toughest, most hard fought 7-0 I’ve ever seen in 20 years of coaching,” Mainz said. “Our team knows that a trademark for Mississippi State is their tenacity.”
“We’ve got our work cut out for us but the team has been resilient.”
After today’s match, the Tide will play host to the Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. Ole Miss will be heading to Tuscaloosa with two big SEC wins fresh on their minds, having beaten both No. 13 Georgia (5-2) and No. 14 Tennessee (5-2) last weekend. The Rebels currently stand at 11-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC.
“We have to get mentally prepared,” McLane said. “The two teams this weekend, we’ve played last year, and we’ve seen them in the fall, and if you’ve seen them before, it gives you a little more confidence going into the match.
“There’s always pressure in the SEC because everybody is good. You have to bring your A-game. You’ve got to bring your best.”
The Tide will head to Auburn on April 17 to face the Tigers.
The last three matches of the regular season could be the difference between strong and weak SEC finishes.
“I tell the team that we may not be in contention for a spot in the top 20 in the country, but we have a lot to play for and pride is a huge part of it,” Mainz said. “At this point, we have nothing to hang our heads about. We need to get tough. We don’t have any excuses.”
