LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State men's and women's tennis teams kick off the 2023 season this Friday as they host Jacksonville State University at Pepsi Tennis Center in Lorman, Miss. The women's match begins at 11:30 a.m., with the men's competition following at 3 p.m.
Each team will play a six-person field as the women's team returns Jaime Edwards, Kimberly Kaome, Mikaela Konstantinova, Tangia Riley-Codrington, and Aizat Zholdakayeva. Freshman Nicole Kells from Wales, New Britain, will play her first season as a member of the Alcorn team to complete the team.
The men's team brings back Luka Andonov, Dakota Fernandez, Luka Rodic, and Isaac Santitto and adds Nikola Kijac and Arne Sohmer. Kijac is a junior transfer from Belgrade, Serbia, and Sohmer is a freshman from Cologne, Germany.
The Lady Braves closed out the 2022 season with a 6-17 record overall and 5-4 in conference play with victories over Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Grambling, Xavier, and Mississippi Valley.
The Braves finished last season with a 6-13 record, including a 3-2 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They grabbed victories over Prairie View A&M, Dillard, Alabama A&M, Mississippi Valley State, and Mississippi College during the regular season. In the SWAC tournament, the men's team defeated Prairie View 4-2 in the quarterfinal round but fell 1-4 to Jackson State in the semifinals.
Alcorn tennis enters its first year under the direction of head coach Lola Oredugba. She is assisted by Tripp Case.
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