Mississippi State
Kentucky
State Readies For Two Ranked Road Matches
March 14, 2024 | Women's Tennis
Mississippi State women's tennis has a pair of ranked opportunities on the road this weekend.
Chris Hooshyar's Bulldogs are set to take on No. 64 Kentucky on Friday at 4 p.m. CT before traveling to Music City to battle 30th-ranked Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1 p.m.
MSU enters the weekend with a 9-6 overall record but is off to a 0-3 start in conference play. The Bulldogs are trying to bounce back from a 4-0 loss at home to then 34th-ranked LSU this past Sunday.
Alexandra Mikhailuk tops State with a dozen singles wins this season, including a 9-2 mark in dual match play. Mikhailuk, a graduate student from Canada, has racked up 66 singles victories over the course of her career and needs only one more to match MSU Hall of Famer and current Northwestern head coach Claire Pollard (1986-89) for 10th on the school's all-time singles wins list.
Dharani Niroshan, Maria Rizzolo and Jayna Clemens have all reached double-digit singles wins this season. Clemens has especially played well of late, winning six of her last seven singles decisions.
Niroshan and partner Alessia Tagliente make up State's top doubles tandem. Niroshan and Tagliente have posted 10 wins together, including a 7-3 showing this spring.
Kentucky is 6-6 on the year and is also off to an 0-3 start to the SEC slate. The Wildcats have dropped three-straight matches, including a 6-1 loss at Vandy last Sunday.
UK has been solid at home this season, posting a 5-1 record at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs found success on their last trip to Lexington, earning a 4-1 win there to close out the 2022 regular season. Mikhailuk and Chloé Cirotte earned a doubles win teaming together that day while Cirotte also claimed a victory in singles to help Mississippi State's cause.
The Wildcats are led by a pair of ranked doubles teams in No. 50 Makayla Mills and Elizabeth Stevens and No. 70 Elizabeth Eades and Lidia Gonzalez.
Vanderbilt comes into the weekend at 6-4 and 1-2 in league play with a match against 34th-ranked Ole Miss looming on Friday. The Commodores are currently undefeated at home, racking up four wins at the Lummis Family Tennis Center.
Celia-Belle Mohr leads Vanderbilt's singles lineup as the No. 9 ranked player in the nation. No. 60 Bridget Stammel joins Mohr as another ranked singles competitor for the Commodores. Vandy also features a pair of ranked doubles teams in Mohr and Anessa Lee (26) along with Valeria Ray and Holly Staff (69).
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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