Women's Tennis Set to Open 2020 Campaign Against Prairie View A&M

Tuesday, January 21

New Orleans, La.

10 A.M.

Southern Miss

Prairie View A&M

Women's Tennis Set to Open 2020 Campaign Against Prairie View A&M

1/20/2020 1:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Women's Tennis Set to Open 2020 Campaign Against Prairie View A&M

Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Southern Miss women's tennis team is set to open its 2020 campaign on Tuesday against Prairie View A&M (0-3, 0-0 SWAC). First serve is slated for 10 a.m. in New Orleans, La.

The Golden Eagles feature five returners that combined for 29 wins during a 12-5 showing in 2019. Those five include Katia de la Garza, Arina Amaning, Monique Burton, Tanit Lopez, and Ebru Zeynep Yazgan. De la Garza posted a team-high 10 wins last season with nine of them coming at the No. 4 singles position. Yazgan, a freshman at the time, played a vital role at the bottom of the lineup with eight wins. Amaning returns to the top of the lineup after accumulating six wins for the Golden Eagles at the No. 1 position.

In his second season with the Golden Eagles, head coach Steve Schram has brought in an impressive freshman class. Schram added Jeanne Gearity, Sarah Medik, and Warisara Lee to a lineup that has produced four consecutive winning seasons.

"In my 14 years, I've haven't felt this excited in a long time for the start of a season," Schram said. "The team chemistry, leadership and work ethic is definitely very high. The first match is always a bit nerve-racking, especially for Sarah and Warisara who will be playing the first collegiate matches of their young careers.

"They just arrived on campus a few weeks ago and we look forward to watching them compete. The returners are feeling confident and we've prepared them very well in the short time that we have had"

While Tuesday's contest is the first for Southern Miss, Prairie View A&M has already played three matches. The Panthers dropped their opener to Sam Houston State before being swept by Louisiana Lafayette in a doubleheader. In 2019, the Golden Eagles defeated the Panthers by a 5-0 score. Amaning, Burton, and Yazgan all recorded wins in that match.

Follow @SouthernMissWTN on Twitter for updates.