Stephen F. Austin
Prairie View A&M University
Ladyjacks Battle Prairie View A&M, UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Three-Match Weekend
4/5/2018 12:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SFA faces must-win situation against two Southland foes to keep Southland Conference Tournament hopes alive
Match 17
Stephen F. Austin (1-15) at Prairie View A&M (7-17)
Friday, April 6 | 1:00 p.m. | PVAMU Tennis Courts | Prairie View, Texas
Match 18
Stephen F. Austin (1-15, 1-7 Southland) vs. Incarnate Word (5-14, 3-5 Southland)
Saturday, April 7 | 11:00 a.m. | Schlief Tennis Complex | Nacogdoches, Texas
Match 19
Stephen F. Austin (1-15, 1-7 Southland) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11-6, 6-1 Southland)
Sunday, April 8 | Noon | Schlief Tennis Complex | Nacogdoches, Texas
THE FIRST SERVE
• Facing a must-win situation in order to keep its hopes for the Southland Conference Tournament alive, the Stephen F. Austin women's tennis team begins a three-match weekend on the road against Prairie View A&M for a non-conference battle at 1:00 p.m. Friday afternoon before returning to the Schlief Tennis Complex to take on league foes Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday (11:00 a.m.) and Sunday (noon).
• Currently SFA sits two games back of Incarnate Word for the eighth and final spot in the Southland Conference Tournament and must defeat the Cardinals Saturday morning in order to keep its postseason hopes alive. Both teams have three matches remaining on their regular season schedules.
• Junior Kaja Ljubic's seven singles wins are the most on the team this season. Additionally, her five singles wins in Southland Conference play represent one-third of the Ladyjacks' total number of league singles triumphs.
• The doubles pairings of Darinka Tiboldi/Nida Kamal and Gabi Guilarte/Siân Payne have been responsible for producing five wins each. Both of those tandems have picked up a pair of Southland Conference doubles wins.
SCOUTING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Team singles match record | 31-78 (.284), 24-11 (.686) in SWAC
• Team doubles match record | 17-30 (.362), 8-2 (.800) in SWAC
• Friday afternoon's match against the Ladyjacks starts a stretch of five consecutive non-conference matches for Prairie View A&M who has already clinched a spot in the field for the SWAC Tennis Championship. The first three of those matches will take place in Prairie View, Texas, before the Lady Panthers play at Houston twice on Sunday to wrap up their regular season.
• Constanza Aranguiz has posted a little over one-quarter of the Lady Panthers' total singles wins this season. Having played across flights two, three, four and and six, Aranguiz is the owner of an 8-8 record.
• Aranguiz and Neharika Rama are one of Prairie View A&M's best doubles tandems. They have gone 7-7 while playing mainly on the top doubles line and the duo of Shaddar Findley and Tatiana Ruhl has also won seven doubles tilts.
• Prairie View A&M has won five of its previous seven matches but does not have any NCAA Division I wins outside of its six SWAC victories.
SCOUTING INCARNATE WORD | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Team singles match record | 38-69 (.355), 17-31 (.354) in Southland Conference
• Team doubles match record | 18-27 (.400), 10-10 (.500) in Southland Conference
• Currently in possession of a one-game lead over both Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana for eighth place in the Southland Conference standings, Incarnate Word needs to maintain at least that position through its last three league matches of the regular season if it wants to ensure itself a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament.
• Each of the Cardinals' last three matches have been decided by 4-3 scores with the final one going the way of New Orleans and snapping UIW's two-match winning streak.
• One of only three UIW players who owns a record of .500 or better in singles play, Jelena Dordan has played her way to a 9-7 record in one-on-one matches so far this season.
• Competing exclusively in the number-two singles flight, Dordan has won three singles bouts in a row and is 5-2 against Southland Conference adversaries.
• Sara Djurdjevic (8-8) and Matea Zemunik (9-9) have combined for 17 of the Cardinals' 38 singles wins in dual match action this season with the former going 4-3 in Southland Conference play.
• In doubles play, Dordan and Alejandra Tamayo have teamed up to become one of the better tandem pairing in Southland Conference play. Those two have gone 4-1 in league play and are in the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak. In all, they have gone 6-6 in the number-three doubles spot.
• Zemunik and Victoria Kareh provide stability on then number-one doubles line and have posted a 7-8 overall record which included a 4-3 showing in Southland Conference action.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Team singles match record | 50-32 (.610), 28-14 (.667) in Southland Conference
• Team doubles match record | 20-18 (.526), 13-8 (.619) in Southland Conference
• Chasing a third-straight Southland Conference regular season title, the Islanders are bunched up with McNeese and Northwestern State at the top of the league standings. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has four league matches remaining on its regular season schedule and is a half-game back of both McNeese and Northwestern State in the race for the regular season title.
• Both of the individuals who have accumulated 10 or more singles wins for the Islanders so far this season have won six of their seven Southland Conference matches. Luna Dorment (11-3) leads the team in singles wins and has played on lines one, two and three while Marina Vicens Miquel (10-2) has played a least one match on lines three, four, five and six so far this season. Dormet has won four in a row while Miquel is on a three-match inning streak.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's longest singles winning streak, however, goes to Louise Trigona. At 8-5, she is on the cusp of double-digit singles triumphs and has won five in a row in one-on-one play. Her 8-5 record included a 6-1 showing against Southland Conference opponents and she has played on lines two, four and five.
• Winners of three consecutive matches and eight of their last nine, the Islanders have gotten a consistent quality product out of Jelena Dzinic and Maria Maldonado in doubles play. That pairing, which has played seven of its eight matches on the number-three doubles line, has gone 6-1 in Southland Conference matches in order to be responsible for almost half of the team's 13 doubles wins.
COMING UP NEXT
• For the final weekend of the regular season, the Ladyjacks will head to Arkansas for two matches - one against a Southland Conference for and one against a non-conference adversary. On Friday, April 13, SFA takes on NCAA Division II institution Harding at 1:00 p.m. before battling league foe Central Arkansas at noon on Sunday in Conway, Ark.
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Players Mentioned
