Friday, January 17
Birmingham, Ala.
11:00 AM
Mississippi State
vs
Troy
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
MSU Women’s Tennis Set To Open 2020 Campaign Friday In Birmingham
January 16, 2020 | Women's Tennis
by Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women's tennis team is set to begin its 2020 dual match slate on Friday, Jan. 17, with a double-header against Troy and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, before traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Xavier on Sunday.
"We are very excited to kick off our 2020 season with three road matches this weekend," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "The girls have been working hard since returning to campus. The collective effort and commitment we have seen from this group since the beginning of the school year has been impressive. It is always a challenge playing the first dual matches of the year so it will be interesting to see how we respond to the challenges these first few matches bring."
The Bulldogs seek their ninth straight season-opening triumph Friday against Troy at 11 a.m. CT, before taking on Samford at 4 p.m., both being played on the SU campus. ESPN3 will offer a live stream of the No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles matches in the Samford contest. The match against Xavier on Sunday is set to begin at 9 a.m. CT.
State holds a 6-1 ledger over Troy and has come out victorious in the last four meetings. The most recent was on Feb. 20, 2011. Against Samford, MSU owns a perfect 7-0 record. The match against Xavier will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The 2020 campaign marks the 46th season in program history, the 11th with Greenan at the helm.
The Maroon and White return five veterans from last year, while redshirt freshman Valeria Nikolaev and two other newcomers will make their dual match debuts this weekend.
MSU's roster features one senior in Sara Lizariturry, who held a 16-13 singles record last year. Lizariturry also posted a stellar 16-2 doubles mark alongside Janina Braun and a team-best 7-2 record in SEC play.
Magda Adaloglou, Emma Antonaki, Tamara Racine and Meredith Roberts also return for Mississippi State this season.
A pair of victories over ranked opponents in consecutive matches highlighted the fall slate of Adaloglou's junior campaign. Adaloglou and Racine make up State's highest-ranked doubles duo, carrying a No. 43 ranking into 2020.
Antonaki – in her sophomore campaign – is the 84th-ranked player nationally at present after recording six wins this fall and boasting an impressive rookie resume that featured a team-high 17 singles wins in dual match play, all at the top two spots in the lineup. She also competed in the NCAA Singles Championship to end her freshman season of 2019.
In the fall, Roberts recorded four wins in singles and four in doubles.
Marta Falceto, Alexandra Mikhailuk and Nikolaev will compete for the first time in dual match play this weekend.
In their first fall in Starkville, Falceto led the team with seven singles wins, while Mikhailuk posted a team-high .600 win percentage with a 6-4 ledger.
Mikhailuk, alongside Antonaki, paced the Bulldogs in doubles this fall with five triumphs. The tandem holds a No. 45 ranking entering spring action.
After sitting out due to injury last season, Nikolaev returned for MSU and recorded three wins in singles action last semester.
Reminiscing on 2019, the Bulldogs recorded their fifth-consecutive winning season as they earned a 14-13 mark overall. State finished the year ranked 50th nationally.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State women's tennis team is set to begin its 2020 dual match slate on Friday, Jan. 17, with a double-header against Troy and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, before traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Xavier on Sunday.
"We are very excited to kick off our 2020 season with three road matches this weekend," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "The girls have been working hard since returning to campus. The collective effort and commitment we have seen from this group since the beginning of the school year has been impressive. It is always a challenge playing the first dual matches of the year so it will be interesting to see how we respond to the challenges these first few matches bring."
The Bulldogs seek their ninth straight season-opening triumph Friday against Troy at 11 a.m. CT, before taking on Samford at 4 p.m., both being played on the SU campus. ESPN3 will offer a live stream of the No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles matches in the Samford contest. The match against Xavier on Sunday is set to begin at 9 a.m. CT.
State holds a 6-1 ledger over Troy and has come out victorious in the last four meetings. The most recent was on Feb. 20, 2011. Against Samford, MSU owns a perfect 7-0 record. The match against Xavier will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The 2020 campaign marks the 46th season in program history, the 11th with Greenan at the helm.
The Maroon and White return five veterans from last year, while redshirt freshman Valeria Nikolaev and two other newcomers will make their dual match debuts this weekend.
MSU's roster features one senior in Sara Lizariturry, who held a 16-13 singles record last year. Lizariturry also posted a stellar 16-2 doubles mark alongside Janina Braun and a team-best 7-2 record in SEC play.
Magda Adaloglou, Emma Antonaki, Tamara Racine and Meredith Roberts also return for Mississippi State this season.
A pair of victories over ranked opponents in consecutive matches highlighted the fall slate of Adaloglou's junior campaign. Adaloglou and Racine make up State's highest-ranked doubles duo, carrying a No. 43 ranking into 2020.
Antonaki – in her sophomore campaign – is the 84th-ranked player nationally at present after recording six wins this fall and boasting an impressive rookie resume that featured a team-high 17 singles wins in dual match play, all at the top two spots in the lineup. She also competed in the NCAA Singles Championship to end her freshman season of 2019.
In the fall, Roberts recorded four wins in singles and four in doubles.
Marta Falceto, Alexandra Mikhailuk and Nikolaev will compete for the first time in dual match play this weekend.
In their first fall in Starkville, Falceto led the team with seven singles wins, while Mikhailuk posted a team-high .600 win percentage with a 6-4 ledger.
Mikhailuk, alongside Antonaki, paced the Bulldogs in doubles this fall with five triumphs. The tandem holds a No. 45 ranking entering spring action.
After sitting out due to injury last season, Nikolaev returned for MSU and recorded three wins in singles action last semester.
Reminiscing on 2019, the Bulldogs recorded their fifth-consecutive winning season as they earned a 14-13 mark overall. State finished the year ranked 50th nationally.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Women's Tennis vs. UAB Highlights - 2/10/19
Sunday, February 10
Women's Tennis vs. Alabama St. Highlights - 2/9/19
Saturday, February 09
Women's Tennis vs. Alcorn State Highlights - 2/2/19
Saturday, February 02
Women's Tennis vs Tennessee Highlights - 4/5/18
Thursday, April 05