Stephen F. Austin
Texas State University
SFA Takes On Texas State Saturday Morning
2/9/2018 7:28:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Ladyjacks and Bobcats both searching for first win of 2018
Match Five
Stephen F. Austin (0-4) vs. Texas State (0-3)
Saturday, Feb. 10 | 11:00 a.m. | Schlief Tennis Complex | Nacogdoches, Texas
THE FIRST SERVE
• In search of their first victory of the 2018 season, the Stephen F. Austin women's tennis team starts a two-match, non-conference home stand Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. when they face off against Sun Belt and in-state foe Texas State at the Schlief Tennis Complex.
• Siân Payne and Darinka Tiboldi have each produced one of SFA's two singles wins so far in 2018. In doubles play, Payne has teamed up with sophomore Gabi Guilarte to go 2-0 in the number-two doubles flight. Those two wins represent all but one of SFA's doubles wins this season.
• Since the start of the 2014 season, the Ladyjacks have enjoyed a great deal of success at home. SFA is 29-11 (.725) at the Schlief Tennis Complex in that span.
COACHES COMMENTS | SFA HEAD COACH JON McLAUGHLIN
"What's high on our priority list right now is making sure we stay on that steady upward trajectory we have been on since the season began. Last weekend we hit the ball very well and at times looked like we could play with anyone in the country, but inconsistencies came back to hurt us. Winning is a learned behavior and right now we're trying to build off of good starts to find a way to finish matches. Once we can do that, we'll begin to build the confidence we need in order to be successful."
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Like the Ladyjacks, Texas State heads to Nacogdoches in search of its first win of the 2018 season. Dating back to last season, the Bobcats have lost four straight matches and have not generated a single team point in any of those setbacks.
• All of Texas State's opponents up to this point have been from the Lone Star State. The Bobcats started their 2018 spring campaign with a 4-0 setback to No. 12-ranked Texas before dropping a 6-0 decision at Texas A&M. In their most recent match, TCU scored a 4-0 victory over the Bobcats.
• Junior Ana Perez is one of the Bobcats' top returners as she posted a 12-6 singles record in dual matches one season ago. Those 12 wins were the most among Texas State's ranks and all came either in the third or fourth flights.
• Fellow third-year player Joy Chia Ming Ming played her way to a 7-8 record in 2017 with the majority of those singles triumphs coming on the fifth line. There, she went 6-7.
• One half of the Bobcats' best doubles squad returns in 2018. Senior Alex Jones teamed with Eva Dench in 2017 and the pair went 7-8 while primarily positioned in the top doubles flight. Ana Perez and Pippa Carr had a good deal of success on the number-two doubles line, going 6-2.
COMING UP NEXT
• SFA gets a week off before returning to action with another home match. The Ladyjacks play host to NCAA Division II adversary Northeastern State at the Schlief Tennis Complex on Saturday, Feb. 17. First serve has been set for 11:00 a.m.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
