Women's Tennis Hosts Pair of Matches this Weekend
1/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's tennis (1-0) team looks to continue its winning ways this weekend when it hosts Tulane (4-1) on Friday at 4:00 p.m. (CST) and Georgia State (1-0) on Sunday at Noon (CST). Both matches will take place at the Hank Crisp Indoor Tennis Facility.
"I feel we moved forward last weekend and really established ourselves early in the match," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "I liked the way we played disciplined tennis throughout the match. I would like to see the Tide come out of the gates fast playing authoritative doubles. It's necessary that we get everything we can out of these early season matches."
Alabama got off to a great start in 2009 with a commanding 7-0 sweep of UT-Chattanooga on Jan. 25. In four of the nine matches played, the Crimson Tide did not give up a single game to the Lady Mocs with freshmen Taylor Lindsey and Courtney McLane winning 8-0 at the No. 2 doubles position and sophomore Tiffany Welcher, McLane and junior Paulina Bigos winning 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 1 thru No. 3 singles spots, respectively.
Tulane enters Friday's match with a 4-1 record and has won its previous three in a row. The Green Wave's No. 1 singles player, freshman Mariam Kurdadze, is 5-0 thus far this season. Friday's meeting will be the seventh in program history between Alabama and Tulane but the first since the 1987 season. All six matches were played between 1982 and 1987. The series is currently split 3-3 with the last meeting going in favor of the Tide 5-4.
Alabama and Georgia State will face off for the ninth time Sunday. The series dates back to the 1980 season with the Tide winning all eight previous meetings. The last time the two programs met was just shy of one year ago when Alabama defeated the Panthers 6-1 in Tuscaloosa. Georgia State will have played two dual matches entering Sunday's contest against the Tide. The Panthers opened their season with a 7-0 win over Georgia Southern at home on Jan. 24 and will face Tulane on Saturday. Georgia State boasts one of the top players in the south region in Diana Nakic. The Panther freshman is currently ranked No. 24 on the ITA South Region Singles chart.
"We are well organized heading into this weekend's matches," added Mainz. "It's important that we capitalize on these pre-conference matches to gain the speed we need for the SEC season. The team is eager to compete again at home against two quality teams in Tulane and Georgia State."
Admission to all Alabama tennis matches is free. In addition, live scoring is available on Rolltide.com or by clicking on this .
