LORMAN, Miss. – Under the direction of interim head coach
Kersten Vanem-Walker, Alcorn Women's Tennis returns home for just the second match of the spring season at Hall's Ferry Tennis Courts in Vicksburg, Mississippi, as the Braves welcome Sam Houston to town for a non-conference match on Friday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m.
Alcorn (3-7) has been on the road for the past four matches, including a pair against Southeastern Conference (SEC) powers Mississippi State and Alabama, respectively. The Braves are seeking their first win over a Division I opponent this season as well.
BRAVES NOTEBOOK
• This will be the first-ever meeting in women's tennis between Sam Houston and Alcorn.
• Dating back to last season, the Purple and Gold have rolled off three consecutive wins in Vicksburg.
• The Purple and Gold have five freshmen playing in the spring. Only
Zoe Crimmel and
Oihane Villanueva Lopez return from last season's squad.
• Freshman
Hana Bajramovic owns a 3-4 record in the spring, including a 2-3 mark in No. 2 singles. She is 1-1 at the top flight.
• The Braves' doubles tandem of freshmen Bajramovic and
Amelia Tatafu are 2-4 at the No. 1 position, while Bajramovic has teamed with
Matea Andelic for a win at No. 3.
• Also sporting three singles wins in the spring is fellow rookie
Taylor Briffa of Melbourne, Victoria, with the Australian capturing a pair of wins at the No. 5 position.
SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON
• The Bearkats of Sam Houston are under the guise of Head Coach Rob Hubbard, now in his seventh season with the program.
• Sam Houston is 0-7 on the year having dropped a 4-0 decision to Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, on Sunday, Feb. 8.
• Sam Houston is also taking on Southern Miss and Jackson State in their "Magnolia State" swing.
• The Bearkats grabbed two points against Lamar and McNeese, respectively, earlier in the spring season.
• Sam Houston employs Nayuma Subba at the top-flight singles spot, while Anamaria Kurtsikashvili serves in the No. 2 position.
• In doubles competition, Aaliyah Hohmann and Kurtsikashvili play at the top spot.
LAST TIME OUT FOR ALCORN (at Southeastern Louisiana)
The duo of
Hana Bajramovic and
Amelia Tatafu staked a win at No. 1 doubles, but it was Southeastern Louisiana ultimately taking the match 7-0 over Alcorn in women's tennis play at Southeastern Tennis Complex in Hammond, Louisiana. The match concluded a four-match road swing for the Braves.
Alcorn (3-7) was forced to resign the No. 3 doubles position due to injuries for interim head coach
Kersten Vanem-Walker. But the freshmen duo of
Hana Bajramovic (Quebec City, Quebec) and
Amelia Tatafu (Perth, Western Australia) claimed a 6-4 win over the Southeastern Louisiana tandem of Bente Bierma and Paige Duncan at the top-flight doubles spot.
SLU (4-0) would earn the doubles point courtesy a 6-1 decision for Taisia Boslova and Aitana Darder at the No. 2 position as they stepped past Alcorn's
Matea Andelic (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and
Katherine Grados (Lawrenceville, Ga.), respectfully.
In singles action, Bajramovic forced a super set against the Lions Marian Makashvili at the No. 2 spot. Bajramovic dropped the opener before coming back to claim the second set. Makashvili would settle to record the win in three sets (6-4, 4-6, 10-8).
Oihane Villanueva Lopez (Bilbao, Spain) secured five games in her two-set match loss (6-3, 6-2) to SLU's Mariam Tetradze at No. 3 singles.
Grados was forced to retire in the second set of her match after dropping the opener 6-3, but rebounding nicely to knot the second set at 1-all.
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