HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A very difficult season will conclude this weekend for the University of New Orleans women's tennis team, starting on Friday at 2 p.m. when they face William Carey.
The short-handed UNO women (5-7) will have to hold their own as the team continues their weekend with a 10 a.m. dual on Saturday morning in Mobile, Ala. against Spring Hill before heading to Pensacola, Fla. that afternoon to face Lambuth at 4 p.m.
The weekend comes to a close on Sunday at 12 p.m. for the Privateers, who have played with just four players this season and have entered each match with a disadvantage.
Despite the long odds and the position of starting each dual match with a 2-0 deficit staring them in the face, UNO has managed to pick up their five wins on the season. The victories include wins over Jackson State, Mobile, Loyola-New Orleans and Xavier (La.).
Three of the four members of the squad enter the weekend with winning records led by the duo of Amber Garza and Sofija Karalic, who are both 8-4 in dual play. Garza is 7-4 at the No. 3 position with Karalic posting an 8-3 mark when playing at No. 4.
Kristina Martic has had a solid encore season to her freshman campaign by going 7-5 on the No. 2 court with Kozue Matsumoto holding down a 5-7 record when playing at No. 1. All three players with a winning record bring a three-match win streak into the weekend with Matsumoto having posted wins in her last two.
Doubles' play has continued to be Matsumoto's strong suit, as she has teamed with Garza for a 9-3 mark at No. 1. Matsumoto has posted 27 wins as a Privateer when playing at the No. 1 doubles' position with Garza or former teammates Cassandra Escobar.
This week's opponents feature a pair of teams the Privateers have already seen in WCU (10-5) and SHC (5-8).
Ranked No. 13 in the NAIA national rankings, WCU has won two straight duals and three of their last four. The Crusaders defeated UNO 5-2 on Feb. 19 after dropping the doubles' point to the Privateers.
SHC dropped a 4-3 result to UNO in their last meeting on Mar. 18 with the Privateers claiming 3 of 4 contested singles' matches without a problem. Of five Badger wins on the year, two have come against Tougaloo.
Lambuth is 4-11 on the season after opening the campaign with eight straight losses. The Eagles turned things around mid-season and own wins over Division II programs from Christian Brothers and LeMoyne-Owen amongst their victories.
Ranked No. 5 in the nation, UWF enters a three-dual weekend with a 15-9 record. The Argos have won four straight matches and will play the duo of Lambuth and Florida Southern on Saturday.
These four matches represent the last for a UNO team at the Division I level, as the team anticipates participating at the Division II level in 2011-12.
