LSU Tennis lacks indoor facility

[Comment Below]

By Benjamin Holtzman

The LSU Men's Tennis team is one of the few elite teams in college tennis, not to mention the only one in the SEC, that doesn't have an indoor tennis facility. Considering that the team has to go head-to-head with the other tennis programs of the SEC all spring, the last thing one would want is to be at a disadvantage based on quality of facilities. The team would, in many ways, benefit greatly from an upgrade to an indoor facility in the relatively near future.

During the spring, the team had to cancel nearly half of practices and player workouts due to poor weather conditions. Coach Jeff Brown said "We need to be able to practice as much as much other teams [with indoor facilities]."

At LSU, where the weather is unpredictable, an indoor facility would add significant stability to the practice conditions and schedule. Rain and high heat and humidity shouldn't be a significant determinant in the team's practice schedule.

Additionally, Coach Brown also said that the lack of an indoor facility affects the recruiting of tennis prospects. LSU is consistently a top-20 team in college tennis; therefore the facilities should correspond to the results on the court to keep athletes interested in coming here for college. LSU constantly delivers on the tennis court year after year, and a tennis facility that reflects this would be beneficial in luring recruits to LSU as opposed to other programs. As of right now, other schools have a recruiting edge over LSU in terms of facilities, and that is not advantageous.

Efforts could potentially be made to solve this problem in the relatively near future, Coach Brown said. The administration has acknowledged the lack of an indoor facility as an issue, and the athletic boosters could possibly help down the road.

People who enjoy LSU tennis need to get active in advocating the need for planning groundbreaking on an indoor tennis facility. There needs to be funding provided to make sure LSU's program isn't put at a disadvantage because opportunities for practice were compromised by, for example, weather conditions. Coach Brown said that many people want to see the tennis program grow, and are interested in helping out with making the indoor facility a reality.

The LSU Men's Tennis team is currently participating at the University of South Florida Invitational in Tampa, Florida. The team also fared well earlier this month at the D'Novo All-American Championships and the Rice Invitational in mid-September. After the USF Invitational, they won't be participating in any matches until the Key Biscayne Invitational on January 8th. SEC Indoor Championships will take place starting on January 15th at the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta.

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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