The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team opens the 2019 spring season this weekend. The Mocs take on Mississippi State in a neutral match on Saturday, before hosting Austin Peay on Sunday.
Chattanooga travels to Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, Jan. 19, for an 11:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) match against the Bulldogs. Samford is hosting the non-conference showdown. UTC then welcomes Austin Peay on Sunday, Jan. 20, at 1:00 p.m. to McCallie's Strang-Voges Tennis Center.
"The team came back from break ready to go," stated head coach
Chad Camper. "I am impressed with the leadership and we know the next few matches will be challenging. Being positive and hungry will be important."
Camper is in his third season with the Mocs, posting a 24-16 dual record. He is 60-41 in five seasons as a head coach overall. UTC returns five letter winners and four starters from last year's team that went 10-8 and finished fourth in the Southern Conference at 4-3.
Seniors
Delaney Edwards (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) and
Caroline Hall (Atlanta, Ga.) lead the group of five returners. Others back from last year include junior
Annie Tarwater (Texarkana, Texas) and sophomores
Emma Van Hee (Tournai, Belgium) and
Bogdana Zaporozhets (Kiev, Ukraine).
Freshmen on the roster are
Anna Didkovskaya (Kiev, Ukrane),
Polina Goloputova (Astana, Kazakhstan) and
Lilly Holmes (Florence, Ala.). Goloputova had a third place finish at the Cincy Invite, while Holmes made it to the ITA Regionals Flight B Semifinals in fall action.
The Mocs are 3-0 all-time against Mississippi State, but it is the first meeting in the series since 1984. UTC's other wins came in 1983 and the first year for both programs in 1975.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 16-11 campaign and finished seventh in the SEC at 6-7. They have two individuals ranked in No. 55 Emma Antonaki and No. 56 Magda Adaloglou. Together they are the NO. 57-ranked doubles tandem in the nation.
This is the sixth year in a row, the Mocs have face Austin Peay in non-conference action. UTC has won the last five and holds a 13-2 advantage in the all-time series. APSU was 12-9 last season, including a 6-3 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Senior Lidia Yanes Garcia leads the Lady Govs and is the three-time OVC Player of the Year.
