SPRINGFIELD– The Missouri State women's tennis team will close out the 2018 regular season this weekend when they welcome Missouri Valley Conference opponents Northern Iowa and Drake, as well as William Woods to Cooper Tennis Complex.

Missouri State will first face Northern Iowa on Saturday, April 21, with first serve set for 1 p.m. On Sunday, April 22, MSU will take on Drake at 10 a.m., then host William Woods at 2 p.m. MSU will honor seniors Abbey Belote and Anelisse Torrico Moreno in a ceremony after the Sunday matches.

Belote, a native of Springfield, Mo., was the first student-athlete to commit to the Bears when the program was restored prior to the 2014-15 season.  She has been named to the ITA Scholar-Athlete Team and MVC Academic Honor Roll each of the last three years, and to the MSU Athletics Director's Honor roll seven-straight semesters. Belote received the MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award in 2016-17 season. She currently holds a 6-16 singles record this season, including a 5-10 dual record and 2-1 against MVC opponents.

Torrico Moreno joined the Bears in spring 2015 and has been a fierce competitor for the Bears ever since. She collected double-figure singles wins in her each of her freshman (10) and sophomore (11) seasons and finished third at the No. 3 singles flight at the MVC Individual Tennis Championship her junior fall season. Torrico Moreno is also a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and MVC Academic Honor Roll honoree (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17) and has been named to the MSU Athletics Director's Honor Roll each of her six semesters active as a Bear. She was also awarded the MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award in 2015-16. Currently, Torrico Moreno is 9-17 on the season, with a 6-9 singles record and 2-1 MVC record this spring at No. 2 singles.

MSU, currently 7-8 on the season and 2-1 in league play, is led by junior Fati Khamissi with a 11-4 record and 3-0 record at No. 4 singles while junior Phoebe Boeschen holds an 8-7 dual record at No. 2 singles. Sophomore Alye Darter has put together a 6-9 record at No. 1 singles while freshman Ellie Burger has posted a 6-4 record and 3-0 against MVC squad at No. 5 singles.

In doubles action, Torrico Moreno and Boeschen pace the Bears at No. 2 doubles with an 8-6 record while Darter and Burger have put together a 7-6 record at No. 1 doubles.
UNI (4-11, 1-3 MVC) picked up wins over MVC newcomer Valparaiso, South Dakota State, Milwaukee and Cardinal Stritch this season. The Panthers will close out their regular season on Sunday against UMKC in Kansas City.

Drake (14-5, 4-0 MVC) has captured a share of the league title already after sweeping through the MVC as they head into their final match of the season against the Bears. The Bulldogs started the season with a six-match winning streak before Minnesota snapped their run on Feb. 11.

William Woods (11-5) will head to Springfield after taking on Missouri Baptist and St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Saturday in St. Louis. The Owls will take on the Bears as primer for the American Midwest/Heart of America Tennis Championship next weekend.  

Missouri State will also host the 2018 MVC Tennis Championship at Cooper Tennis Complex on April 27-29.

For all of the latest information on the Missouri State women's tennis team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsTennis on Twitter and Instagram.