Lady Dogs Look For Second Straight Win; Host No. 35 Mississippi On Senior Day
May 25, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State women's tennis team closes out the 2002 regular season Friday, hosting in-state rival Mississippi in a 2:30 p.m. showdown the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
State (5-14, 1-9 SEC) looks for its second straight win when the annual battle with the 35th-ranked Lady Rebels (10-9, 3-7 SEC) is renewed on Senior Day at the Pitts Tennis Centre. Prior to the match, the Lady Dogs will honor lone senior Carole Soubis' accomplishments during a three-year career.
UM leads the overall series 38-5, including wins in the 12 meetings. The last MSU victory in the series was claimed by the 1989 squad that went on to finish with a school-best No. 20 national ranking.
The Lady Bulldogs head into the showdown looking for a second-straight victory after snapping an 11-match losing skid with Sunday's 4-3 win over Arkansas. Head coach Tracy Lane's squad dropped the doubles point for the 10th-consecutive outing, but the Lady Dogs rallied in singles to take four of the six matches and their first conference win of the season.
Soubis played an integral role in Sunday's win in Fayetteville, Ark., knocking off Adriana Lopez 7-6, 6-3. Soubis has been instrumental in MSU's growing success on the courts.
The Moulins, France, native concludes her career ranking fifth in school history for single season victories after claiming a 25-9 mark her first season playing for the Lady Dogs. She will also conclude her three-year tenure in Starkville rating eighth in school annals with a .735 single-season winning percentage.
Soubis and partner Eimear Sloan tied for ninth place in school history during the 2000 season with 14 victories that propelled them as high as No. 24 in the national rankings. During her career, she played in integral part of State's runs to the second round of the SEC and NCAA Tournaments the last two seasons. During her rookie season, she helped MSU to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a victory at No. 3 over Oregon's Janice Nyland. Last season her victory over Kristy Dascoli at No. 1 assisted with State's win over Ohio State in the opening-round of NCAA regional action.
State's match with UM is free to the public. Those unable to attend the 2:30 p.m. contest can follow all the action via the following link.
