Photo by: Sloane Bush/MSU Athletics
Women's Tennis Unveils Spring Schedule
December 10, 2021 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State is hopeful that a successful fall will catapult women's tennis to a solid spring season.
The Bulldogs have 13-home matches scheduled at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre and Rula Tennis Pavilion this spring, including a three-match homestand to start things off in January. MSU will host Jacksonville State on Jan. 15 and a doubleheader against Memphis and Louisiana-Lafayette the following weekend.
"I am really excited about the spring," said MSU associate head coach Sachin Kirtane. "The girls have put in a lot of hard work over the fall. It was reflected in some of the results we had overall as a team. We have a very tough schedule in the spring."
Following their three-game homestand, Daryl Greenan's Bulldogs will then be on the road for over a month. Mississippi State travels to the ITA Kickoff in Athens, Georgia to take on Iowa on Jan. 28 and will also meet North Florida or Georgia next.
The Bulldogs will then travel to Tulane on Feb. 6 then play in Waco, Texas against SMU and Baylor respectively on consecutive days (Feb. 19-20) before finally returning to Starkville to host Southern Miss ad James Madison in a twin bill on Feb. 26.
"We feel like playing on the road unites the team together," Kirtane said. "Everybody is going to be hanging out and playing together on the road. Being on the road makes you face a lot of adversity. Daryl and I feel on the road is when we can bond better as a team."
MSU intentionally made its non-conference schedule as challenging as possible to prepare the team for what lies ahead in Southeastern Conference play.
"We have a lot of tough matches, but we made the schedule knowing how tough the SEC is," Kirtane said. "We are making sure we are gearing up and ready to go to start the SEC season."
State starts SEC play on the road as well with back-to-back trips to Tennessee (March 4) and Georgia (March 6). The Bulldogs will then have a six-match homestand where they will host Texas A&M on March 11, LSU and North Alabama on March 13, Auburn on March 18 and Alabama and Alcorn State on March 20.
Mississippi State will then trek to South Carolina (March 25), Florida (March 27) and Ole Miss (April 3) before returning to Starkville for its final two-match homestand against Arkansas (April 8) and Missouri (April 10). The Bulldogs will close out the regular season at Vanderbilt on April 15 and at Kentucky on April 17.
The SEC Championships will be held on Florida's campus this year from April 20-24.
State returns six players from last season's NCAA Tournament squad, including All-American and first team All-SEC performer Emmanouela Antonaki, who is currently ranked 50th nationally. No. 67 Magda Adaloglou, who was a second team All-SEC selection, also returns and forms one-half of the 28th-ranked doubles tandem with Chloé Cirotte – who is the reigning ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year.
The Bulldogs will also add Italian Alessia Tagliente to their roster in January.
"We have a full and challenging spring schedule ahead of us," Greenan said. "We are all excited for the spring. Our girls have made progress during the fall tournament season and will work hard over the break to prepare for the challenges ahead."
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Bulldogs have 13-home matches scheduled at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre and Rula Tennis Pavilion this spring, including a three-match homestand to start things off in January. MSU will host Jacksonville State on Jan. 15 and a doubleheader against Memphis and Louisiana-Lafayette the following weekend.
"I am really excited about the spring," said MSU associate head coach Sachin Kirtane. "The girls have put in a lot of hard work over the fall. It was reflected in some of the results we had overall as a team. We have a very tough schedule in the spring."
Following their three-game homestand, Daryl Greenan's Bulldogs will then be on the road for over a month. Mississippi State travels to the ITA Kickoff in Athens, Georgia to take on Iowa on Jan. 28 and will also meet North Florida or Georgia next.
The Bulldogs will then travel to Tulane on Feb. 6 then play in Waco, Texas against SMU and Baylor respectively on consecutive days (Feb. 19-20) before finally returning to Starkville to host Southern Miss ad James Madison in a twin bill on Feb. 26.
"We feel like playing on the road unites the team together," Kirtane said. "Everybody is going to be hanging out and playing together on the road. Being on the road makes you face a lot of adversity. Daryl and I feel on the road is when we can bond better as a team."
MSU intentionally made its non-conference schedule as challenging as possible to prepare the team for what lies ahead in Southeastern Conference play.
"We have a lot of tough matches, but we made the schedule knowing how tough the SEC is," Kirtane said. "We are making sure we are gearing up and ready to go to start the SEC season."
State starts SEC play on the road as well with back-to-back trips to Tennessee (March 4) and Georgia (March 6). The Bulldogs will then have a six-match homestand where they will host Texas A&M on March 11, LSU and North Alabama on March 13, Auburn on March 18 and Alabama and Alcorn State on March 20.
Mississippi State will then trek to South Carolina (March 25), Florida (March 27) and Ole Miss (April 3) before returning to Starkville for its final two-match homestand against Arkansas (April 8) and Missouri (April 10). The Bulldogs will close out the regular season at Vanderbilt on April 15 and at Kentucky on April 17.
The SEC Championships will be held on Florida's campus this year from April 20-24.
State returns six players from last season's NCAA Tournament squad, including All-American and first team All-SEC performer Emmanouela Antonaki, who is currently ranked 50th nationally. No. 67 Magda Adaloglou, who was a second team All-SEC selection, also returns and forms one-half of the 28th-ranked doubles tandem with Chloé Cirotte – who is the reigning ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year.
The Bulldogs will also add Italian Alessia Tagliente to their roster in January.
"We have a full and challenging spring schedule ahead of us," Greenan said. "We are all excited for the spring. Our girls have made progress during the fall tournament season and will work hard over the break to prepare for the challenges ahead."
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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