After having an up and down regular season, the tennis team is looking to establish consistency heading into the Gulf South Conference Tournament.

The tournament starts Friday, April 19 with the No. 4 seed men taking on Valdosta State University and the No. 3 seed women facing Delta State University. The women’s team defeated the Statesmen 5-3 in their only meeting in the regular season.

“It’s difficult to beat a good team the first time so I don’t see us having a big advantage,” said coach Brice Bishop. “It still comes down to being able to handle the pressure of this one-and-done format.”

Senior Bruna Vieira says she tries not to think about the opponent, instead she focuses on the play of her own game.

“If I worry about who we’re playing then I end up making mistakes and playing worse,” she said.

The men’s team will play a top 20-ranked opponent in the Blazers, a team that has already beat the Lions 9-0 earlier this year.

“Valdosta State is a really good team, but it wouldn’t shock me if we beat them,” Bishop said. “There’s not a lot of difference in the two (seed) through six in this conference.”

Both tennis teams have showed their inconsistencies and showed a lack of focus at times this year, but against University of West Alabama this past weekend they showed improvements, he said.

“I wanted to see us with more focus on the doubles and we did,” Bishop said. “We’ve been trying to do too many things in the past but we did a better job of simplifying the game.”

Being a slow-starting team this season has been an issue, but going into the tournament the Lions have done a better job of starting off, he said.

Injuries have plagued the Lions all season and could be a reason why both teams have struggled at times.

“We have to get healthy, but I like where we’re at,” Bishop said. “I think we’ve been playing well.”

Players, especially the seniors who hope to leave on a high note, are hoping to keep showing the improvements.

“This tournament does mean a lot,” Vieira said. “This is my senior year, and I don’t want my last year to just be OK.”