2019-20 Sun Belt Women’s Tennis News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats
AROUND #SUNBELTTEN
• Sun Belt Conference women’s tennis has a slate of 20 matches on the schedule this week.
• This week's schedule is highlighted by South Alabama (5-3) competing in the 72nd annual Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala. This year's women's tournament field includes Alabama, Arizona, No. 31 Auburn, No. 5 Princeton, SMU, No. 19 Wake Forest and Yale.
• In the most recent
Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Women's National Rankings unveiled on Feb. 18, Appalachian State junior Sasha Pisareva was ranked 65th in singles.
• Louisiana (8-0) is off to its best start since 2007 and has recorded five shutouts in its eight matches. The Ragin' Cajuns hold top singles records at four spots in the conference – junior Floriane Picaut (5-0) at No. 1, sophomore Mariona Perez (4-0) at No. 2, junior Dana Radovanovic (4-0) at No. 4 and sophomore Angel Santiago (2-0) at No. 5.
• Georgia Southern (4-1) and Appalachian State (3-2) each have won their last three matches in a row. The Eagles are undefeated at home (2-0) and in the midst of a five-match homestand. The Mountaineers are 18-1 over their last 19 matches when taking the doubles point.
• Georgia Southern freshman Nadja Meier leads the Sun Belt in overall singles wins (13). Meier has won six of her last seven singles matches and her last two doubles matches.
• The conference's leading doubles teams in dual match play are undefeated so far this spring – Texas State juniors Rishona Israel-Lewis and Hana Kvapilova (4-0) at No. 1, ULM junior Madalina Grigoriu and freshman Giovanna Pereira (3-0) at No. 2 and South Alabama junior Cami Moreno and senior Leslie Soto (3-0) at No. 3.
• The Sun Belt is off to a strong spring at No. 1 singles, picking up wins over Autonomy Five conference opponents. Pisareva has been responsible for two of them – 6-3, 6-4 win over then-No. 18 Anna Rogers of North Carolina State on Jan. 20 and 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Natalie Novotna of Virginia Tech on Jan. 26. Georgia State sophomore Eva Chivu picked up a 6-2, 6-0 victory over then-No. 79 Taylor Russo of Auburn on Feb. 1.
• The 2020 Sun Belt Women's Tennis Championship returns to the Peachtree City Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga., on April 23-26.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Lucie Raquin, Louisiana (Fr., Besancon, France)
Louisiana freshman Lucie Raquin clinched the come-from-behind, 4-3 home victory over Southeastern Louisiana with her 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Flory Bierma at No. 2 singles. The win helped the Ragin' Cajuns extend their perfect start to the dual match season. For the spring, Raquin sits 6-1 in singles and 4-0 in doubles.
2020 Weekly Award Winners
January 22: Sasha Pisareva, Appalachian State
January 29: Sasha Pisareva, Appalachian State
February 5: Eva Chivu, Georgia State
February 12: Nadja Meier, Georgia Southern
February 19: Lucie Raquin, Louisiana
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, February 19
East Carolina at Appalachian State, 1 p.m.
Troy at Alabama A&M, 1 p.m.
Friday, February 21
1-South Alabama vs. Princeton, 12:30 p.m.
Florida Gulf Coast at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m.
Texas State at Rice, 1 p.m.
Saturday, February 22
1-South Alabama vs. Alabama/Yale, TBA
Georgia State at Florida, 10 a.m.
UNC Greensboro at Coastal Carolina, 11 a.m.
Texas State at Houston, 11 a.m.
Presbyterian at Georgia Southern, Noon
Arkansas State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.
ULM at McNeese, 2 p.m.
UTA at Wichita State, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 23
Coastal Carolina at South Carolina, 9 a.m.
2-UTA vs. Tulane, 9 a.m.
3-Arkansas State vs. Incarnate Word, 10 a.m.
Georgia State at North Florida, 10 a.m.
College of Charleston at Appalachian State, 1 p.m.
Louisiana at Illinois-Chicago, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, February 25
Louisiana at Chicago State, Noon
All Times are Central and Subject to Change
KEY:
1-Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic, Montgomery, Ala.
2-Wichita, Kan.
3-Ruston, La.