MSU Women's Tennis Takes On Vanderbilt In SEC Tournament
? 2009 SEC Women's Tennis Championship Central
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State’s 49th-ranked women’s tennis team (10-9, 1-9 SEC) travels to Fayetteville, Ark., Thursday to take on the No. 19 Vanderbilt Commodores (10-7, 6-4 SEC) in the first round of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Coming in as the 12th-seeded team, the Lady Bulldogs will take on fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in a match slated for a 10:30 a.m. CT start.
The two teams have met once this season, with the Commodores getting the most of MSU in a 6-1 triumph. In that contest, State junior Radka Ferancova picked up the Lady Bulldogs’ only point of the day after her opponent Kelly Ulery retired in the second-set due to injury.
After going a school-record 10-0 against non-SEC foes, Mississippi State comes into Thursday’s match with one win in conference play, its first since 2007. State defeated LSU April 12 in a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind thriller. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt enters the match with six wins in conference play. The Commodores defeated No. 24 Kentucky 7-0 in their last outing.
MSU’s senior tandem of Martina Banikova and Elna de Villiers has been impressive this season. Their 12-6 record in doubles has earned them a No. 55 national ranking. Vanderbilt’s Jackie Wu (57) and Catherine Newman (61) both hold a national ranking in singles competition, while the VU tandem of Wu and Steinbauer are ranked 38th in the nation.
The winner of Thursday’s match will take on the fourth-seeded Florida Gators on Friday. Match time for that contest is also slated for a 10:30 a.m. CT start.