Jan. 29, 2015
Schedule | Match Notes | Follow @MSUBearsTennis
The Missouri State women's tennis team begins the 2015 season on the road as the Bears take on the SIU Edwardsville Cougars in Edwardsville, Ill., at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1.
First-year head coach Mallory Weber leads a team of nine-student athletes in 2015 on the road for the Bears' first six matches of the season. MSU is scheduled to host its first home meet of the season against South Dakota State at the Cooper Tennis Complex at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.
"There's definitely been a lot of excitement and talk at practice ever since they've come back from (Winter) break, especially now that we actually have matches every week to look forward to," Weber said. "They got a lot of rest over break and should be ready to go for the start of the year."
About SIU Edwardsville
The SIUE Cougars have started the season 1-2, with their only victory coming in a 4-3 season-opening win at Butler. The Cougars dropped 6-1 decisions previously this season against Saint Louis and Missouri. SIUE sophomore Mia Frogner earned both points for the Cougars in their losses to the Billikens and Tigers, with victories at No. 2 singles.
SIUE hosts Chicago State Saturday prior to taking on MSU. The Bears are 1-0 all-time over the Cougars.
Fall Rewind
The Bears came into the 2014-15 school year with seven student-athletes on their roster and have since welcomed the additions of freshmen MacKinzie Conard and Anelisse Torrico Moreno.
MSU played in one exhibition tournament and three-sanctioned Intercollegiate Tennis Association events this Fall. In the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Tennis Championship in Des Moines from Oct. 3-5, Ema Turudija and Rebecca McIsaac led the Bears with a third-place finish at No. 3 doubles. Mackenzie Rozell also earned a fourth-place finish at No. 2 singles to highlight the Bears' MVC appearance.
Following the MSU debut for Turudija, Rozell and Ledis Molina at the ITA Central Regional Championship in Stillwater, Okla., the Bears competed at the Arkansas State Fall Invitational from Nov. 7-8. Turudija placed fourth to lead the Bears on the singles side, while the No. 2 double tandem of McIsaac and Rozell earned a victory in the consolation bracket to lead the Bears' doubles effort in Jonesboro.
"It's been a process for sure," Weber said. "We've become it seems like a completely different team since we got here in August until now. I think in the Fall it definitely took us some time to figure out what we were about, and I think that we've figured it out a little bit and we're in a good place starting our spring season."
Taking the Court for the First Time
The Bears begin their first dual competition this spring as a team since it was discontinued in 2006 as part of an Athletics restructuring initiative that saw the University decrease its total number of sports from 21 to 16. The addition of women's tennis was recommended by a special task force called by President Clifton Smart III during the early portion of 2013 to ensure the University's long-term compliance with Federal Title IX regulations.
Looking at the Roster
The MSU women's tennis team is made up of two juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen. Ema Turudija and Miranda Poile serve as the two juniors, while Mackenzie Rozell and Ekaterina Donetskova are sophomores. All four have previous collegiate playing experience heading into their first seasons at MSU.
"They've [Turudija and Poile] seen it before and even our two sophomores have been through a year of college tennis so that experience for all four of them will certainly help," Weber said. "They know what's coming and I think our freshmen right now are just really excited about the upcoming season, but don't realize what's about to hit them. We play almost every weekend, so they're going to adjust quickly and I think they will learn quite a bit, especially early in the season."
Five freshmen make up more than half the MSU roster this season. Abbey Belote, Rebecca McIsaac and Ledis Molina each participated heavily for the Bears in tournaments this Fall. MacKinzie Conard made her first appearance for the Bears in the Arkansas State Invite - the final event of the Fall schedule - while Anelisse Torrico Moreno joined MSU at the start of the spring semester.
"The freshmen are definitely going to be a big part of this team," Weber said. "In the lineup, there is always going to be two of them involved at least, if not more. It's just a matter of these first few matches seeing where they fit in, and there are five of them so if it's not working, then we can try something else out which is nice to have."
How the Matches Will be Scored
No-ad scoring will be used in both singles and doubles and three doubles matches will be played to begin the dual. Each match is one set to six, with a tie-break at six-all. The first team to earn two doubles wins earns one team point. Doubles play will be followed by six singles matches (best two of three sets -- tie-breaks at six-all). Each singles match is worth one team point.
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Check out all the latest news and information on Bears tennis at MissouriStateBears.com and follow @MSUBearsTennis for updates throughout the season
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