The Mississippi State women’s tennis team will open Southeastern Conference play this weekend by hosting No. 21 Kentucky at 2:30 p.m. Friday and No. 5 Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. Sunday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The SEC has a history of being one of the strongest tennis conferences in the nation. And this year is no exception. The Lady Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers are the only teams not ranked in the Top 75. The SEC boasts seven teams in the Top 50, including three top five teams.
Kentucky stands at 8-5. Of their five losses, none came from teams outside the Top 30, and three came from teams that rank in the Top 10. They have also beaten two Top 20 teams, including a 6-1 victory over No. 12 Southern California.
“Kentucky, right now, is one of the Top 15 teams in the country,” MSU head coach Tracy Lane said. “We’ve always had close matches with them. Friday’s match is going to be really big for us.”
After what should be a tough challenge on Friday, Sunday will allow no rest. Vanderbilt (9-1) plays at No. 30 Mississippi Friday before coming to Starkville. The Commodores’ lone defeat came at the hands of No. 4 Washington in a 4-3 decision that included two three-set matches and two tiebreakers.
Vanderbilt has six wins over Top 50 teams, including a 7-0 rout of No. 7 Duke, a 6-1 defeat of No. 11 Clemson, and a 5-2 victory over No. 8 UCLA.
“Vanderbilt has been convincingly beating teams 7-0,” Lane said, adding, “and I’m talking about teams that are ranked just a few spots behind them. So we’ve a very, very big weekend.”
After the brief homestand this weekend, State goes on a five game road trip that will include meetings with No. 2 Georgia and No. 28 Tennessee.