Alabama
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Alabama Women’s Tennis Wraps Up Regular Season Hosting No. 39 LSU and No. 32 Texas A&M
4/12/2018 10:06:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Crimson Tide will face the Tigers on Friday at 5 p.m. CT, and will battle the Aggies on Senior Day on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team will conclude its regular season this weekend with a pair of matches at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The Crimson Tide will face No. 39 LSU on April 13 at 5 p.m. CT, and will wrap up its regular-season slate against No. 32 Texas A&M on April 15 at 1 p.m. CT. Alabama women's tennis will recognize Smith Hinton and team manager Nikki Shiver for Senior Day before the match against the Aggies.
PROMOTIONS:
Parents and Family Weekend
Friday: Tuscaloosa Tennis Association Night and Crimson Racket Club Cookout
Saturday: Senior Day and free Whataburger Chicken Fingers for first 100 fans
LAST TIME ON THE COURT
The Crimson Tide split the weekend, falling to Arkansas, 4-1, on Friday and topping Missouri, 4-2, on Sunday to pick up its first conference win of the season.
Sophomore Alba Cortina-Pou highlighted the weekend, as she captured the fourth singles victory in Missouri to seize the Tide's first SEC win on the year. After Alabama took the 3-1 lead, Mizzou cut the Tide's advantage to one, but Cortina-Pou took care of business at No. 5, defeating Ellie Wright in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, to carry her team to victory. Cortina-Pou helped the Tide snap a six-match skid while leading the Tide to its fifth victory over the Tigers in program history. The Blanes, Spain native, currently sits second on the team with a 12-2 record in the spring season and owns a 4-1 mark in the last 10 matches.
CRIMSON TIDE NOTABLES
Daniell continues to dominate the field, as she leads the team with a 15-7 mark in dual play at No. 1, while Hinton is tied for second with Cortina-Pou with 12 singles victories. In doubles play, Hinton and sophomore Jacqueline Pelletier have led the charge with a 9-4 record, including an 8-4 mark at No. 3.
Alabama started the season with a nine-match winning streak, which was the best start in program history since 2009.
IN THE RANKINGS
Daniell surged back onto the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Singles Rankings on April 3, landing at No. 91 with a 5.97 average and currently sits at No. 104 with a 5.38 average on the latest rankings release on April 10. The Douglasville, Ga., native first appeared on the computerized rankings on Feb. 20 at No. 118 with a 4.93 average, and later slipped to No. 124 with a 5.07 average on March 6.
Alabama women's tennis was featured on the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Team computerized rankings for three-straight weeks this season. The Crimson Tide landed at No. 49 with a 14.00 average on March 6 and came in at No. 37 with a 17.75 average on Feb. 27. The Crimson Tide earned its highest rank at No. 31 with a 20.41 average in the first computerized rankings on Feb. 20.
SERVING UP 2018
Alabama opened its spring season on Jan. 13 after a successful fall slate, where the Crimson Tide competed in three tournaments, including the 30th Annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic at the end of October.
Alabama returns three letterwinners and welcomes five newcomers, including four transfers, to 2018.
Daniell comes back to the Capstone as the Tide's top player, and ranked as high as No. 89 this season in the ITA singles national rankings (Feb. 7). Daniell opened the fall season ranked at No. 37 on the ITA preseason list and finished fall play, 9-2, defeating one ranked opponent (No. 45 Lindsey Hodge, Rice University), while reaching the semifinal round of the 2017 ITA Southern Regional Championships. On March 6, Daniell ranked at No. 124 with a 5.07 average and came in at No. 118 with a 4.93 average on Feb. 20 on the Oracle/ITA computerized singles rankings.
Alabama tennis will use PlaySight, a live streaming technology, which provides the ability to live stream in high definition and record/store practice and match sessions to the indoor and outdoor tennis facilities.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – LSU
Friday's match will mark the 46th meeting between the two conference squads, and LSU leads the series, 30-15. In the last meeting, the 27th-ranked Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide, 4-3, on March 17, 2017.
LSU enters Friday's contest as the 39th-ranked team in the nation with a 13-8 overall record, while sitting 10th in the league standings with a 4-7 mark.
In singles, No. 71 Jessica Golovin leads the Tigers with 16 wins, while No. 116 Eden Richardson ranks second on the team with 14 victories and No. 85 Ryann Foster sits third with 10. In doubles, the 41st-ranked tandem in the nation, Golovin/Richardson, have led the way with a 10-5 record.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT – TEXAS A&M
Sunday's match will mark the 11th meeting between Alabama and Texas A&M, and the Aggies lead the series, 6-4. Last year, Alabama fell to the 22nd-ranked Aggies, 5-2, on March 19, 2017.
Texas A&M enters Sunday's match as the 32nd-ranked team in the nation with a 15-7 overall record, while sitting ninth in the conference with a 5-6 mark.
In singles, five players have reached double figures in wins with No. 93 Macarena Olivares leading the charge with 15 victories. In doubles, No. 65 Gonzalez/Paalma top the team with nine wins, all at No. 1.
COMING UP
Alabama will compete in the 2018 SEC Women's Tennis Championships on April 18-22 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWTN on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaWTN on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
