Women's Tennis Hosts Final Home Matches of the Season
4/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 8, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's tennis team (8-10, 1-7 SEC) finishes off its Southeastern Conference home slate this weekend by hosting a pair of matches. The Crimson Tide welcomes No. 66 Mississippi State (9-9, 1-7 SEC) to the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium on Friday, April 9 at 3:00 p.m. (CST). The match against the Bulldogs will be Alabama's Power of Pink match. The Tide will then take on No. 18 Mississippi (11-4, 5-3 SEC) on Sunday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m. (CST).
There will be numerous Power of Pink prizes and giveaways for fans in attendance on Friday. Some of the giveaway items include headbands, tumblers, hats, and umbrellas. The first 100 fans will receive a free hot dog, while the first 500 fans will receive a free t-shirt. Fans are also encouraged to register to win great prizes, including an Apple iPad.
Last weekend was another tough one for the Alabama, dropping two conference matches. On Friday, the Tide took on LSU and was able to take the doubles point from the Tigers. However, Alabama was only able to claim one singles match in suffering a 5-2 loss. Sophomore Courtney McLane was the lone singles bright spot, defeating Kaitlin Burns 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot. On Sunday against No. 22 Arkansas, McLane and freshman Alexa Guarachi backed up their ranking of No. 20 in the national doubles rankings, easing past Anouk Tigu and Stephanie Roy 8-2. The Razorbacks were able to claim the other two doubles matches to win the point, and follow that up by winning five of the six singles matches for a 6-1 victory. Once again, it was McLane providing the lone point, this time taking down No. 115 Kate Lukomskaya 7-6(3), 6-3.
After opening up the season by winning eight of its first nine matches, Mississippi State has fallen on hard times. The Bulldogs enter Friday's match on a five-match losing streak, with four of the losses coming against conference opponents. Mississippi State has struggled against ranked teams, defeating current No. 68 College of Charleston to open the season, but going 0-9 against ranked foes since. The Bulldogs have taken care of business against unranked opponents, going a perfect 8-0 so far this season. Mississippi State currently has no players in the national singles or doubles rankings. The Tide holds an impressive 29-11 record in the all-time series with the Bulldogs, including taking the last two meetings.
Mississippi enters the weekend after picking up two huge wins last weekend in conference play. The Rebels defeated then-No. 14 Tennessee 5-2 and then-No.13 Georgia 5-2 in Oxford. The wins vaulted Mississippi into the top 20 of the national rankings and placed them firmly atop the SEC Western Division standings. The Rebels are just 4-4 on the season against ranked opponents, but three of those wins have come in conference action. Sophomore Kristi Boxx leads Mississippi in the national rankings, currently sitting at No. 57. Junior Connor Vogel has also earned a national ranking, checking in at No. 101. Boxx has teamed up with junior Karen Nijssen for a very successful season in doubles so far, as the duo is ranked No. 13 nationally. The Rebels lead the all-time series with Alabama 28-12, including taking last year's meeting 5-2 in Oxford.
The match on Sunday against Mississippi will be Senior Day for the Tide. Seniors Paulina Bigos, Alice Tunaru, and Bianca Svensson will be honored prior to the start of doubles play.
Next up, Alabama closes out its regular season on Saturday, April 17 with a trip to in-state rival Auburn. The Tide and Tigers will face off at 6:00 p.m. (CST).
Players Mentioned
