Women's Tennis Begin 2017 Season Against Cross-Town Rival Tulane

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans women's tennis team kicks off the spring 2017 slate on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the Privateers take on Tulane at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center in New Orleans at 3 p.m.

The two sides have played against each other 12 times over the past 20 seasons, with Tulane taking the last match 4-0 back in the 2015 installment of the series.

"Historically, Tulane always has a good team," head coach Burzis Kanga said. "This matchup will be a great way to evaluate the progress we have made in preparation for the season and what we need to improve on heading into conference play."

UNO enters the spring season after a successful fall campaign, highlighted by a complete sweep of the Big Easy Classic. Junior Anja Luethi posted a team-best 8-1 mark in singles action during the fall docket, while pairing up with senior Anna Segarra Rius for a 6-2 record in doubles play. Freshman Claudette Gilhespie had a warm welcome into collegiate tennis, winning her first four matches and ending the fall with a 5-1 record in singles and 5-3 in doubles.

"I was pleased with how we did in the fall," Kanga commented. "We have a young team this season so to see us play the way we did was impressive. Since the fall season ended we have been training really hard and the improvements everyone has made is noticeable."

The Privateers return four of their top contributors from last season's 15-6 unit in sophomore Trang Dao, senior Yasmine Rashad, Luethi and Rius. During the spring 2016 slate all four veterans eclipsed double-digit win totals in singles action while Dao, Luethi and Rius all claimed 10 victories in doubles play. Gilhespie and Yurina Asai represent the Privateers' freshmen class, with sophomores Paula Garriga and Brittany Johnson rounding out the roster after both going undefeated in doubles action as freshmen.

Tulane is coming off an 8-14 record in 2016, but had a productive fall season including Sade Atkinson being named American Athletic Conference Player of Month for October after going 5-1 in singles action with her lone loss coming in the ITA Southern Regional Round of 16. Overall, Atkinson went 9-6 in singles action and 5-5 in doubles play. Christina Sisti boasted the best winning percentage in singles action for the Green Wave with a 9-5 record, identical to her doubles mark.

Following the match, the Privateers will take a two-week hiatus from competition before kicking off a six-match homestand that spans the entire of month of February, starting on Friday, Feb. 3 against Alcorn State.