University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
West Alabama
Golden Eagles Set to Host West Alabama
2/1/2019 11:14:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss women's tennis team is set to host West Alabama on Saturday afternoon, looking to extend their unbeaten streak to four games. The first serve is set for 2 p.m. at the Southern Miss Tennis Facility.
Southern Miss (3-0, 0-0 C-USA) opened its 2019 campaign with sweeps over Florida A&M, Jackson State and Alcorn State. Backed by a 3-0 singles record, sophomore Katia de la Garza snagged C-USA Player of the Week honors on Wednesday afternoon. The award comes on the eve of de la Garza and the Golden Eagles battling her former team.
"We've had a good week of practice and the team is focused and eager to compete again tomorrow," said coach Steve Schram. "The leadership of our seniors has been great and everyone will be ready to step it up."
Scouting West Alabama
In an exhibition match against Jacksonville State, the Tigers fell 4-3 last weekend. De la Garza was West Alabama's No. 1 singles player last season, but after transferring to Southern Miss, the Tigers went with Daryna Hukasian in her place. The Tigers featured just three players in their starting lineup against Jacksonville State that were on the 15-5 team last season, but had a successful showing in the fall season with new faces stepping up.
The Tigers were also able to steal the doubles point after securing wins at No. 2 and No. 3. They also had wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
On top of de la Garza's unbeaten record, Anastasia Cobanovic, Rikeetha Pereira, and Ebru Zeynep Yazgan have all gone undefeated in the first three matches. The rest of lineup has yet to drop a match as well, but have gone unfinished over the course of those three matches. In doubles play, Pereira and Yazgan have posted a 3-0 mark as the No. 2 pairing. At No. 1, Arina Amaning and Jerse have a 2-0 record, while de la Garza and Tanit Lopez are 1-0 on court three.
The Tigers and Golden Eagles will get underway at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Follow @SouthernMissWTN on Twitter for updates.
Players Mentioned
