NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers men's and women's tennis teams are both in action this weekend. The Privateer men and women will both play Atlantis on Saturday at 2 p.m. The men will then play Jackson State at 10 a.m. with the women to follow at 1 p.m. All matches will be at the Privateer Tennis Center.
MEN FACE ATLANTIS, JACKSON STATE IN NON-CONFERENCE BATTLE
The Privateer men (2-2) have been solid in doubles this season with a 10-1 collective mark heading into the weekend.
Karim Al-Amin and
Matthew Armbruster are an unblemished 4-0. Also,
Espen Lagarde and
Marcel Volz made it into the most recent ITA rankings in doubles at #33.
New Orleans blanked Loyola on Wednesday 7-0. All six matches finished in straight sets.
Luke Joujan and
Lilian Dubois combined to lose just three games in their singles matches.
The Privateers will be playing Jackson State for the 14
th time since 2009. New Orleans has won all 13 prior meetings against the Tigers.
This will be the first time the Privateers will face the Miami-based school. Atlantis (2-1) opened their spring season with a win over Florida National. They also squeaked out a 4-3 win over Embry-Riddle. A relatively new school, Atlantis was founded in 2007 and is a private university in Downtown Miami.
Jackson State (0-2) has played Jacksonville State and Mississippi State. The Tigers won the doubles point against the Bulldogs.
WOMEN END BUSY WEEK WITH TWO MATCHES
New Orleans (4-1) has played two matches this week with a narrow loss to Tulane and a sweep of Loyola. The Privateers finish up with matches against Atlantis and Jackson State on Saturday and Sunday.
Audelia Morin Kougoucheff made her spring debut against Loyola. Kougoucheff won her singles debut by rallying from down a set.
In total, the women have won 70 percent of their singles matches to begin the year (21-9).
Kateryna Kalistratova and
Raluca Puscas co-lead the team in wins heading into the weekend. Both true freshmen have notched four victories.
New Orleans will also have their first bout against Atlantis on the women's side. The Privateers are 11-0 against Jackson State since 2009 and swept the Tigers 4-0 last February. Only twice has Jackson State earned more than one point in a match against New Orleans.
The Atlantis women also opened the season with a win against Florida National. Since then, they have lost to Ave Maria and Embry-Riddle.
Jackson State (0-4) has suffered several heartbreakers to begin the season. The Tigers lost 4-3 to Stephen F. Austin, Jacksonville State and Northwestern State.
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