Golden Eagles Look to Stay Unbeaten Against Northwestern State, UTSA

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Riding an undefeated start to the 2020 season, the Southern Miss Women's Tennis team will take its unblemished record to Natchitoches, La. this weekend for two matches. The Golden Eagles will battle Northwestern State on Friday at 1 p.m. before opening up their Conference USA slate against UTSA at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Both matches will take place at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex.

The Golden Eagles' torrid start has included a combined score of 29-3 against its opponents. They have not dropped a game since Warisara Lee fell in three sets to Thea Yang of West Alabama on Jan. 30. Since then, Southern Miss has shutout Delta State and Nicholls State in back-to-back matches. A large part of that success can be credited to Southern Miss' deep lineup. Junior Katia de la Garza leads the pack with a 5-0 record, including a 4-0 mark on court one. In total, all eight Golden Eagles have grabbed a win in the early part of the season.

Monique Burton, Tanit Lopez, and Sarah Medik are all off to a 4-0 start, while Ebru Zeynep Yazgan has posted three wins for the Golden Eagles. Lee sits at 2-2, but both of her losses have come in three-set thrillers. Veteran Arina Amaning has been limited this spring but has posted a 1-1 record. Freshman Jeanne Gearity posted a win in her first Southern Miss outing against Delta State on Feb. 8.

Through five matches, the Golden Eagles have yet to drop not only a doubles point, but also a doubles match. They sit 12-0 behind 3-0 starts from Lee/De la Garza and Lopez/Yazgan. Burton/Medik and Burton/De la Garza each are off to 2-0 starts while Lopez/Amaning and Medik/Lee each have one win.

The Opponent's
The Lady Demons are riding a three-match win streak with wins over Houston, Alcorn State, and Texas State. Sitting at 5-3 on the season, Northwestern State has fallen to LSU, North Texas, and UL-Lafayette. Mariella Minetti, the Lady Demons' No. 1 singles player, has jumped to a 6-2 start and has cruised to wins in her last two outings. As a team, Northwestern State is 30-16 in singles play and 13-9 in doubles.

UTSA brings a 3-3 mark into the C-USA opener, including a 7-0 win over UTRGV in its last outing. The Roadrunners have added wins over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi and Incarnate Word. Sophomore Jasmin Starr has held down the top singles position en route to a 5-1 start. As a team, UTSA is 23-18 in singles play and 11-9 in doubles. In doubles, the Roadrunners have yet to lose at the top pairing.

The History
In order to keep its near record-breaking start intact, Southern Miss will need to change its recent history against Northwestern State. Dating back to 2009, the Golden Eagles are 1-8 overall and 0-5 in Natchitoches. The two last met in 2018 when the Lady Demons won 5-2 at the Southern Miss Tennis Facility. Wins have also been hard to come by against UTSA. The two have met four times since 2015, all of which have resulted in Roadrunner wins. Last season, UTSA knocked off the Golden Eagles in Texas before handing them a 4-2 loss at the C-USA Championships. The Golden Eagles took the doubles point in the second meeting and Yazgan gave the Golden Eagles a singles win in the same contest.

What's Next
Upon returning from its two-game road swing, Southern Miss will host Jackson State on March 1 to begin a seven-match homestand. Admission to those matches is free.

Follow @SouthernMissWTN on Twitter for updates.

Golden Eagles Look to Stay Unbeaten Against Northwestern State, UTSA

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Players Mentioned

Arina Amaning

Monique Burton

Katia de la Garza

Jeanne Gearity

Warisara Lee

Tanit Lopez

Sarah Medik

Ebru Zeynep Yazgan