Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 9)
Tennis Teams hit Final Stretch before Championship
NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference men’s and women’s tennis teams head into the second to last weekend of regular-season play before they begin preparations for the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships.
Four teams continued to earn national rankings this week. Georgia State is the lone men’s squad at No. 51 on the latest list. The women’s side features three teams within five spots of each other in South Alabama (#43), Georgia State (#46) and UT Arlington (#58).
Georgia Southern senior Rise Lanne claimed the men’s tennis Student-Athlete of the Week award while UT Arlington sophomore Agustina Serio earned the women’s honor.
Adding two more wins to his resume and clinching two matches for the Eagles this week, Lanne now touts a 16-1 record and a six-match winning streak this spring. Lanne clinched the match against Mercer where Georgia Southern won 5-2, winning his singles match 7-6, 6-3. Against The Citadel, Lanne also won in straight sets taking down Artemie Armari 6-2, 6-1. In doubles, the senior won both of his matches alongside Dani Casablancas at the No.1 position. They won 6-0 against the Bears and 7-5 against the Bulldogs to sport a three-match winning streak.
Serio earned the match clincher twice, and doubles-point clincher once, in last week’s matches. She opened up the week with a closely-contested doubles match against No. 22 Wichita State. Serio, playing with Valeria Lopez, battled neck-and-neck with the Shockers in doubles before dropping a tiebreaker 7-6. She bounced back to earn a 6-4, 6-4 win over UTSA to clinch the match against the in-state rival. She also earned the doubles point with a 6-2 result. She out the match against Memphis with a 6-2, 6-4 win to help the Mavs improve their home winning streak to 22 matches.
The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Tennis Championships will be held from April 21-24 at the City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center in New Orleans, La. All men’s and women’s tennis programs will be invited to participate with the winner of each bracket earning an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tennis Championships.
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WEEK 9 MEN’S TENNIS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rise Lanne (Georgia Southern, Senior)
Adding two more wins to his resume and clinching two matches for the Eagles this week, Rise Lanne now touts a 16-1 record and a six-match winning streak this spring. Lanne clinched the match against Mercer where Georgia Southern won 5-2, winning his singles match 7-6, 6-3. Against the Citadel, Lanne also won in straight sets taking down Artemie Armari 6-2, 6-1. In doubles, the senior won both of his matches alongside Dani Casablancas at the No.1 position. They won 6-0 against the Bears and 7-5 against the Bulldogs to sport a three-match winning streak.
WEEK 9 WOMEN’S TENNIS STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Agustina Serio (UT Arlington, Sophomore)
UT Arlington sophomore Agustina Serio had a stellar week for the Mavericks, earning the match clincher twice, and doubles-point clincher once. Serio opened up the week with a closely contest doubles match against No. 22 Wichita State. Serio, playing with Valeria Lopez, battled neck-and-neck with the Shockers, dropping a heartbreaking tiebreaker 7-6. She bounced back strongly however, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win over UTSA to clinch the match against the in-state rival, also earning the doubles point with a 6-2 result. She once again closed things out against Memphis with a 6-2, 6-4 win to help the Mavs move the home winning streak to 22 matches.
RECENT RESULTS
MEN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30
SMU 5, UT Arlington 0
FRIDAY, APRIL 1
TCU 4, UT Arlington 0
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Georgia Southern 7, The Citadel 0
Georgia State 6, Presbyterian 1
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
Georgia State 4, College of Charleston 1
UL Lafayette 4, Xavier (LA) 0
UL Lafayette 4, Xavier (LA) 2
#50 Old Dominion 4, South Alabama 0
Texas A&M 4, UT Arlington 1
WOMEN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30
South Alabama 4, Troy 3
UTSA 4, Texas State 1
THURSDAY, MARCH 31
UL Monroe at Georgia State (Cancelled)
Wichita State 4, UT Arlington 0
FRIDAY, APRIL 1
Appalachian State at Clemson (Postponed)
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
New Orleans 7, Arkansas State 0
Georgia Southern 4, UL Monroe 2
Georgia State 6, Charlotte 1
UL Monroe 6, Savannah State 0
South Alabama 5, Southern Miss 2
UT Arlington 4, UTSA 0
Troy 6, Alabama A&M 1
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
Appalachian State 4, North Carolina Central 3
Georgia Southern 7, Savannah State 0
UT Arlington 4, Memphis 0
MONDAY, APRIL 4
East Carolina 4, Appalachian State 0
* - Indicates Sun Belt Conference game
(All Times CT)
MEN’S ITA RANKINGS
Regional Rankings (Jan. 5)
SOUTHERN REGION-SINGLES
#7 Tuki Jacobs (South Alabama)
CAROLINA REGION-DOUBLES
#10 Jan-Willem Kleynhans/Scott Webster (APP)
National rankings
TEAM
#51 Georgia State
WOMEN’S ITA RANKINGS
Regional Rankings (Jan. 5)
SOUTHERN REGION-SINGLES
#14 Alexandria Stiteler (South Alabama)
#15 Laura Valkova (South Alabama)
National rankings
TEAM
#43 South Alabama
#46 Georgia State
#58 UT Arlington
SINGLES
#72 Alexandra Stiteler (South Alabama)
NEWS AND NOTES
FOUR TEAMS EARN RANKINGS
The Sun Belt Conference returned four teams to the ITA National Team Rankings after it placed a season-high five teams in the rankings three weeks ago. Women’s teams at South Alabama (#43), Georgia State (#46) and UT Arlington(#58) maintained their stellar rankings. On the men’s side Georgia State (#51) stayed in the Top 75 this week.
STITELER PACES JAGS
South Alabama went 2-0 last week to extend its win streak to eight – the team has won 17 of its last 18 outings. Freshman Alexandria Stiteler suffered just her second loss of the spring season, falling in three sets to Southern Miss’ Carolin Drescher 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. Stiteler is 16-2 this spring with a 4-1 mark against ranked opponents.
MAVS TAKE ON THREE TOP OPPONENTS
UTA had its most challenging week of matches against three nationally-ranked opponents on the road. The Mavs dropped to 14-10 as they were swept by No. 27 SMU in Dallas on Wednesday and No. 2 TCU on Friday, both ending in 4-0 decisions. UTA closed the weekend at No. 10 Texas A&M Sunday with a 4-1 loss. … UTA’s three consecutive losses are tied for its longest losing streak of the season. The Mavs haven’t lost three in a row since January. … Five Mavs have more than 10 singles wins so far. … Up next, the Mavericks host Midwestern State on April 16 at 2 p.m.
WARHAWKS SOAR IN SINGLES
Three members of the team have double-digit wins this year, led by Tiffany Mylonas’ 13-2 mark. Luana Stanciu is also 12-1 in her first collegiate season (didn’t play in fall), while Patricia Villar has an 11-4 showing.
MAVERICKS STAY IN THE RANKINGS
UTA was ranked No. 58 in the April 5th ITA Rankings, dropping 10 spots from the previous week. … The Mavericks swept through UTSA and Memphis this weekend with 4-0 wins on Saturday and Sunday. … UTA pushed its home winning streak to 22 matches, dating back to the 2015 season. The Mavs swept both conference opponents in Arkansas State and Louisiana 4-0. … Sophomore Agustina Serio garners the team’s most singles wins at 20-6 with four wins each in the third and fourth positions. … UTA is set for three matches this week and hosts SMU on Senior Day at 2 p.m. Thursday. The Mavs travel to San Marcos for a pair of league matches against UL-Monroe Saturday and Texas State on Sunday.
TROY SPLITS ON IMPORTANT WEEKEND
Troy split a pair of home matches last week, falling to No. 43 South Alabama, 4-3, before beating Alabama A&M, 6-1. Sanae Ohta and Nancy Karaky both continued to roll and have now each won seven straight singles matches. Ohta is 10-2 this spring in singles play while Karaky is 12-3. The Trojans travel to Boone, N.C., to take on Georgia State and Georgia Southern. Troy is 2-1 in Sun Belt matches this season.
ULM FINALLY RETURNS HOME
The weekend matches will be ULM’s fifth and sixth in a row away from home. The team then comes back for a Friday, April 15 home contest with Southern Miss before the Sun Belt Tournament.
BOBCATS HOST CONFERENCE FOES
Texas State returns home for their final three matches of the regular season beginning with a pair of matches against Sun Belt Conference teams, UL Lafayette and UT Arlington on April 10. Texas State enters this weekend with a 7-10 record this season after falling 4-1 at UTSA last Wednesday night in San Antonio. Texas State enters the UL Lafayette match with a 2-1 record against Sun Belt Conference teams. The Bobcats won two of their three doubles matches at UTSA. Eva Dench and Pippa Carr improved their doubles record to 5-1 this spring with their victory. They are 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference matches. Katy Collins and Ammaarah Tim raised their record to 6-2 in No. 3 matches. They enter this weekend with a 2-0 record against Sun Belt Conference teams.