The Schram Era Begins at Samford
9/27/2018 2:54:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Steve Schram era at Southern Miss begins now. The women's tennis team will start the Samford Fall Hidden Dual on Friday at 10 a.m. against UAB. Over the course of three days, the Golden Eagles will battle Samford, UAB and Arkansas State.
The format of the tournament will allow Southern Miss to battle one team in doubles each morning and then partake in a singles match against another opponent in the afternoon. At the conclusion of play on Sunday, Southern Miss will have played duals against all three schools.
The Schedule
Friday, 10 a.m. – Southern Miss vs. UAB (Doubles)
Friday, 1 p.m. – Southern Miss vs. Samford (Singles)
Saturday, 10 a.m. – Southern Miss vs. Arkansas State (Doubles)
Saturday, 1 p.m. – Southern Miss vs. UAB (Singles)
Sunday, 10 a.m. – Southern Miss vs. Samford (Doubles)
Sunday, 11 a.m. – Southern Miss vs. Arkansas State (Singles)
Southern Miss rundown
With just two seniors, the Golden Eagles are stacked with young talent. From the 2017-18 team, the squad lost three members, but gained two freshman and a transfer in the 2018 recruiting class.
Southern Miss returns Arina Amaning and Rikeetha Pereira, who were slotted at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Amaning compiled a 10-9 record and Pereira finished at 15-5. On top of returning those two, the Golden Eagles return girls at No. 3 singles, No. 4 singles, No. 1 doubles, No. 2 doubles and No. 3 doubles.
Katia de la Garza, a transfer from West Alabama, will get her first taste of Southern Miss tennis after she spent last season as the No. 1 singles player for the Tigers. Freshman Monique Burton and Ebru Zeynep Yazgan will also wear the black and gold for the first time. Tjasa Jerse, Tanit Lopez and Anastasija Cobanovic all return to a Golden Eagles squad that went 18-6 a year ago.
The rest of the field
Of the teams in the field, Southern Miss defeated UAB and Arkansas State last season. The Golden Eagles dropped just four games over the course of those two matches en route to a dominant showing.
UAB finished last season with a 12-12 record, but have put together a pair of solid performances at the Midland Racquet Club Invitational and Milwaukee Classic this season. The Blazers return Marlene Hermann, a junior from Germany that totaled a 14-4 record last season.
Arkansas State won just six matches last season and are without Sabina Jeresic, their top singles player from last season. However, the Red Wolves are loaded with upperclassmen that have plenty of experience.
Samford heads into the duals after finishing the 2017-18 season with a 13-10 record. The Bulldogs return Ariana Beltrame, a junior that capped off her sophomore season with a 14 -3 overall record. Samford also welcomes seven newcomers to squad this weekend.
Thoughts from Steve Schram
"This will be a very good opportunity for all of the players to compete at a high level and I can see where we stand as a team so far.
"As a first year coach, this will be a good indicator of how each player competes and then make the necessary improvements when we get back to the practice courts."
Players Mentioned
