HAMMOND, La. – With the 2021 season opener just over a week away, the Southeastern Louisiana tennis team is preparing for a successful spring.  
 
The Lions will return six letter winners from last season's team, which had its season halted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those six, along with freshmen newcomers Annemart Kleijn and Ariadna Perez, will be taking the court for the first time in 10 months when the season starts next Saturday, as no fall matchers were permitted.
 
"Not playing matches in the fall will have an effect on us, but we try to take a positive outlook on our situation," Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes said. "We benefitted from the extra practice time and we're a better team for it. This group has a great attitude and wants to put the work in and get better every day. I don't know where we'll end up, but I'm really pleased with where we're starting. We're just excited to have the opportunity to play again."
 
Putri Insani (7-4) and Teodora Mitrovic (6-2) boasted the best singles records in the spring. Flory Bierma, Katya Cornejo, Polina Sleptsova and Ximena Yanez also return. With the addition of Kleijn and Perez, Hayes believes he has eight players who deserve a place among the six starting spots.
 
"Most of the time I can easily pick a top six, but this group has made my job difficult in regards to filling out the lineup," Hayes stated. "Everyone is going to have an opportunity to earn a spot during a challenging non-conference schedule."
 
Insani and Yanez were 8-3 on the No. 1 doubles court last spring and are expected to be the team's top doubles pairing. A pair of natives of The Netherlands – Bierma and Kleijn – are expected to comprise a formidable duo, while Cornejo and Sleptsova were 3-0 in Southland Conference play before the season ended last spring.
 
"We feel like we have a strong chance to win the doubles point against everyone we play," Hayes said. "We just have to trust ourselves and continue to play an aggressive style."
 
Southeastern opens the season next Saturday with a non-conference match at Alcorn State. Other non-conference matches away from home will see SLU take on Mississippi State (Jan. 31), UL Lafayette (Feb. 3), Wyoming (Feb. 6 – McComb, Miss.), Jackson State (Feb. 11), South Alabama (Feb. 13) and Tulane (Feb. 20). SLU will host non-conference foes Southern (Feb. 4), LSU Alexandria (Feb. 21), Omaha (March 17) and Southern Miss (April 5).
 
"We have a certain way we want to play and we've been concentrating on that during all this down time," Hayes commented. "We want to see our players do the things in matches that we've been working on. We have to trust that the aggressive style we're playing is going to allow us to be successful if we stick with it. We didn't build this team for non-conference play. We built this team to be successful in Southland Conference play and most importantly, we built this team to play three straight matches (at the Southland Championships) in mid-April."
 
SLU opens Southland Conference play on Feb. 26, hosting UIW. Other league opponents visiting the Southeastern Tennis Complex include Abilene Christian (Feb. 28), Nicholls (March 26), New Orleans (March 28), Stephen F. Austin (April 9) and Sam Houston State (April 11).
 
The Lions will visit league foes A&M-Corpus Christi (March 5), Lamar (March 7), Northwestern State (March 12), Central Arkansas (March 14) and McNeese (April 3).
 
"The strength of our team is its attitude," Hayes said. "I know every time out that every player on this team is going to give 100 percent effort. We have the talent to be successful. We just have to play our style of tennis and believe in each other."
 
40 LOVE CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the tennis program are encouraged to join the 40 Love Club. Lion tennis alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the 40 Love Club and S Club (tennis) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern tennis program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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