No. 21 MSU Women?s Tennis To Open SEC Championship vs. No. 32 Arkansas
April 20, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After finishing the regular season with its best league record in program history, the 21st-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team begins play in the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championship Thursday, facing 32nd-ranked Arkansas. Thursday's match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. CT start at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge.
Full coverage of the tournament can be found at http://www.lsusports.net/16SECWT.
Currently riding a four-match win streak, MSU (16-7, 7-6 SEC) enters the tournament as the 7th seed, while Arkansas (16-12, 5-8 SEC) is the No. 10 seed in the event. The meeting is a rematch of the both teams' most recent outing, which State claimed 5-2 in Fayetteville this past Saturday. The winner of the Bulldog-Razorback matchup will advance to Friday's quarterfinals to face second-seeded and fifth-ranked Vanderbilt at 10 a.m. CT.
The Bulldogs concluded the regular season with the most wins entering postseason since the 1986 dual match season. At No. 21 in the latest ITA rankings, State enters the SEC Championship with the second-highest team ranking in program history.
MSU junior sensation Jasmine Lee remains at No. 14 in the singles ranking heading into Thursday's play. Lee defeated both of her opponents over the weekend to improve to a 14-7 dual match record and 7-6 conference mark. Lone senior Georgiana Patrasc earned a career-best singles ranking at No. 32 this week. Riding an eight-match win streak, she has composed her best season yet at State with a remarkable 18-2 dual match record (9-2 SEC).
Behind Patrasc is sophomore Madison Harrison, who enters the week on a three-match winning string and is 11-8 in singles this spring. Freshman and 117th-ranked Anastasia Rentouli looks to keep things rolling with a 14-5 dual match record, playing primarily at the No. 4 slot.
Rounding out the singles lineup for MSU are sophomores Kristina Vozniak and Jennifer Brown. Vozniak has earned 12 victories in dual play, 11 of which have come at the No. 5 position. Brown has anchored the No. 6 slot for most of the season and currently sits at 12-6 entering the SEC Championship, having claimed victory in her last four decisions.
Arkansas is led by 21st-ranked Yuliya Lysa, who comes in 13-5 overall and 9-4 in the SEC. Ana Oparenovic also represents the Hogs in the singles rankings coming in at No. 90. On the doubles side, Lysa teams up with Shannon Hudson to compose the nation's 42nd-ranked tandem.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
