LORMAN, Miss. – Both the Alcorn State University men's and women's tennis programs will be in action Friday when they host New Orleans at 2 p.m. at the Alcorn Tennis Courts.
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It's the first home match for the men's team, who have played a grueling schedule to date. The Braves (0-5) dropped doubleheaders to UL-Lafayette and Tulane before falling to Southern Miss. Both Tulane and USM are still undefeated, and the Green Wave have wins over No. 18 Tennessee and No. 19 Florida State.
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Still, the Braves have competed and have battled in several close matches. Most notably, sophomore
Johnatan Parat picked up a win at No. 2 singles at UL-Lafayette with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 score. Parat nearly pulled off another victory at USM but was edged 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles.
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The Lady Braves have a busy weekend ahead. After their match against the Privateers, they'll head to Mississippi State at 11 a.m. Mississippi State, and then return home to host Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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The Alcorn women have been playing shorthanded due to injuries.
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In a defeat to Southern Miss, senior
Bianca Birkenstock was tied 5-5 in the first set at No. 1 singles when the Golden Eagles clinched the overall match and play was stopped. Junior
Veronika Pytlikova was also attempting a comeback as she fell 6-0 in the first set but was leading 4-3 in the second at No. 3 singles.
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The UNO men are 2-4 overall with wins over Florida A&M 6-0 and Lamar 4-3. The women have not played a match yet but were 10-11 overall and 4-7 in the Southland Conference last year and brought back five of six starters.
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#FearTheBrave
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