University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Grambling State
Women's Tennis Set for Busy Weekend
2/13/2019 2:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -Â The Southern Miss women's tennis team will host Grambling State on Thursday afternoon, making it the first match for the Golden Eagles in nearly 12 days. Following Thursday's 2 p.m. contest, the Golden Eagles will head to Alabama State for a Friday match before battling Troy on Sunday.Â
The last time outÂ
In Southern Miss' last match, the team defeated West Alabama by a 4-3 score. The Golden Eagles continued their doubles success by securing the doubles point for the fourth time this season. Katia de la Garza and Monique Burton made quick work of the Tigers on court three after winning 6-1. Rikeetha Pereira and Ebru Zeynep Yazgan secured the doubles point after squeaking out a 6-4 win on court two.Â
At singles, De la Garza moved her unbeaten streak to four games after knocking off Georgina Salom, 6-1, 6-2. The former C-USA Player of the Week is one of three Golden Eagles to remain unbeaten in 2019. Arina Amaning also picked up a win on court one after rolling through Daryna Hukasian en route to a 6-1, 6-2 win. Tjasa Jerse put the bow on the win after beating Haina Franco on court three.Â
Scouting Grambling StateÂ
After dropping back-to-back matches to South Alabama, the Tigers sit at 0-2 on the season. They have yet to win a set this season in singles and doubles. Under the previous coaching staff, the Golden Eagles shutout the Tigers 6-0 last season. Amaning, Pereira, Jerse, and Anastasia Cobanovic all won their respective matches when the two teams met.
In doubles, the point went to the Golden Eagles by default. Grambling State returns five players from the team that fell to Southern Miss last season.   Â
Scouting Alabama State
The Hornets come into Friday's contest with a 1-5 record. Their lone win this season came courtesy of a 7-0 blowout over Point. From there, losses have accumulated against Mississippi State (2), Mercer, West Alabama and North Alabama. Reka Szentes and Urska Velec have both recored wins at No. 1 singles and the same pair has two wins at No. 1 doubles. Overall, Alabama State has 10 wins in singles this season to go with six doubles wins.Â
Scouting Troy
Sunday's battle against the Trojans could arguably line up as one of the toughest matches for the Golden Eagles this season. Troy is coming off a season in which they won six of their last seven matches en route to a Sunbelt semifinal appearance. However, this season they sit at just 1-1.Â
The Trojans are coming off a 5-2 loss to Chattanooga 10 days ago. At the ITA Regional Championships in October, De la Garza beat Celia Montero Esteva of Troy to secure a spot in the championship bout. Jerse beat Tingting Pei of Troy in the consolation bracket via a 6-2, 6-0 score. Maria Casas Blas is in the midst of a three-game win streak heading into Sunday and Matea Mihaljevic has won her last two matches.Â
Thoughts from coach Steve Schram
"After a bit of a layoff, the team is ready to compete. We are looking to be pushed this weekend with three challenging opponents. Playing solid doubles with a lot of energy will be crucial for setting the tone early on in our matches."
Weekend ScheduleÂ
vs. Grambling State - Thursday at 2 p.m.
at Alabama State - Friday at 2 p.m.
at Troy - Sunday at 10 a.m.
Projected LineupÂ
S1:Â Arina Amaning
S2:Â Rikeetha Pereira
S3:Â Tjasa Jerse
S4:Â Katia de la Garza
S5:Â Ebru Zeynep Yazgan
S6:Â Monique Burton/Tanit Lopez/ Anastasia Cobanovic
D1:Â Jerse/Amaning
D2:Â Pereira/Yazgan
D3:Â De la Garza/Burton/Lopez/CobanovicÂ
Players Mentioned
