The No. 61 TCU women’s tennis team will travel to New Mexico to take on No. 48 UNLV on Saturday and No. 45 San Diego State on Sunday.
The Frogs lost to the No. 36 SMU Mustangs on Tuesday, 5-2. Sophomore Federica Denti sustained an ankle injury, and junior Shalini Sahoo was still resting an injury from Saturday’s match against Utah. Head coach Dave Borelli said senior Maria Babanova played well in the match against SMU and will be relied on to play singles in this weekend’s matches.
“The two best teams in our conference on paper are UNLV and San Diego State,” Borelli said. “We may be a little shorthanded, but it’s an opportunity for kids to play well and get some confidence.”
UNLV is coming into Saturday’s match with three consecutive wins against Wyoming, Colorado State and Air Force. With those wins, the Lady Rebels improved to 13-4 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference.
In its past match, UNLV’s only doubles victory came from No. 110 Lucia Batta and Anna Maskaljun, who won 8-2. Nives Pavlovic, Adrienn Hidvegi, Jana Albers and Anna Maskaljun all won their singles matches against Wyoming.
The San Diego State women’s tennis team had won eight straight matches before its loss to San Diego on Wednesday, giving the Lady Aztecs a 12-7 overall record and a 3-0 MWC record. TCU has won five of the past six matches against SDSU and leads the all-time series, 5-2. This past season, the Lady Aztecs beat TCU, 4-3, in the regular season before falling to the Horned Frogs in the MWC Championship title match by the same score.
The Lady Aztecs’ Emily Cioffi is 5-0 at the No. 4 spot and won both of her matches last weekend. In doubles, Cioffi and Julia Trunk are 13-4 this spring, including a 10-1 mark at the third slot.
Borelli said his team is the most encouraged group of players he has ever worked with.
“Once we get everybody together [and] healthy, hopefully…we can get a shot at the conference title,” Borelli said. “I think that’s our goal right now — to try and play well this weekend and have an opportunity to improve and go from there.”
TCU vs. UNLV
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Albuquerque, N.M.
TCU vs. San Diego State
When: 10 a.m. Sunday
Where: Albuquerque, N.M.
