Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
SFA, Sam Houston State Clash Saturday before Ladyjacks Host UTEP Sunday
3/15/2019 10:13:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Ladyjacks take aim at third Southland win of 2019
Match Ten
SFA (4-5, 2-2 Southland) at Sam Houston State (8-4, 3-1 Southland)
Saturday, March 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Huntsville, Texas | McAdams Tennis Center
Match Eleven
SFA vs. UTEP (3-9)
Sunday, March 17 | Noon | Nacogdoches, Texas | Schlief Tennis Center
THE FIRST SERVE
• Sitting in fifth place in the Southland Conference standings through its first four league matches, the SFA tennis team travels to Huntsville, Texas, to continue league action while challenging longtime Piney Woods rival Sam Houston State. First serve between SFA and the Bearkats is set for 1:00 p.m. at the McAdams Tennis Center
• Following their match at Sam Houston State, SFA returns home for a non-conference matchup against UTEP. That showdown gets going at noon from the Schlief Tennis Complex in Nacogdoches, Texas.
• Armelle Cerdan and Darinka Tiboldi lead the Ladyjacks in singles triumphs with five each. In Southland play, no Ladyjack has bettered Tiboldi's 3-1 showing in singles.
• Cerdan is 5-4 overall with a 5-3 showing on the number four line.
• Gabi Guilarte and Kaja Ljubic have headlined doubles play for the Ladyjacks early on. That pairing has gone 5-3 with a 2-2 showing against Southland Conference foes while playing on the top line.
SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Singles play is where the Bearkats have excelled to this point in 2019 as the squad has put forth an impressive 45-24 (.652) showing in dual matches singles action. Leading the charges in one-on-one play are a trio of players who include Roos Gerritsen (8-2, 2-2 Southland), Sahaja Yamalapalli (9-3, 4-0 Southland) and Isidora Zivkovic (9-3, 3-1 Southland).
• Gerritsen has been playing exclusively in the fifth or sixth flight while Yamalapalli has lined up in the top line during each of her singles bouts. Zivkovic has done her singles damage in the second and third flights.
• In doubles action, Sam Houston State's record stands at 8-24 (.250) with no pairing posting more than two wins.
• The Bearkats have won five of their last six matches and are a perfect 4-0 when playing at home. Sam Houston State's lone Southland setback came at Abilene Christian by a 4-3 tally on Friday, March 8.
SCOUTING UTEP | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Winless in their last four matches, the Miners head to Texas' oldest town in search of their first true road win of the 2019 campaign. One of the three wins UTEP has under its belt is a 5-2 triumph over C-USA adversary UTSA at the El Paso Tennis Club back on Friday, Feb. 22.
• A little less than one-third of the Miners' dual match singles wins have come courtesy of Kirsten Prelle. She has gone 7-4 in singles action with all of her matches being played on the top line. The only other UTEP player with a singles record of .500 or better is Erandi Martinez who is 5-5 with matches on the second, third and fourth lines.
• In doubles play, Vanessa Valdez and Yvette Van Oijen have turned in a 6-5 record while playing in flights one and two. Prelle and Kathleen Precegona have linked up to go 5-4 in doubles play and have helped UTEP post a collective 14-16 (.467) showing in doubles.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Ladyjacks' next six matches will take place either on the road or at neutral sites beginning with next Saturday's (March 23) trip to Grambling State. SFA plays two matches that day, the first against Grambling State at 10:00 a.m. and the second at 3:00 p.m. against Prairie View A&M.
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Players Mentioned
