MONROE, La. – The ULM tennis team heads into the opening round of the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament winning four of its last five matches, including a pair of back-to-back wins against league foes Texas State and Arkansas State in April.
The Warhawks (10-5, 4-4 Sun Belt) are set to clash with Georgia State on Thursday in Peachtree City, Georgia, marking the fourth time the two have met in the league tournament.
The Warhawks are 10-13 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, dating back to the 2008 season, their first in the league. ULM has won four of its last seven matches at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, dating back to the 2017 season. Those wins have come over Texas State (4-0), Troy (4-1), Arkansas State (4-0) and Coastal Carolina (4-2).
ULM closed the regular season by winning four of its final five matches, including three versus Sun Belt Conference opponents, between March 23 and April 11. The lone non-conference win in that stretch was against Northwestern State (5-2) on March 23. The three conference victories came over Arkansas State (7-0), Texas State (4-1) and Arkansas State (4-0).
Individually, there are six Warhawks with at least 10 singles victories on the season, including
Madalina Grigoriu, who has a 19-2 record. She has posted 11 of those wins in dual action, claiming six as the No. 4 seed, three as the No. 5 seed and two as the No. 3 seed.
Grigoriu put together two extensive winning streaks in singles action for the Warhawks in 2021. She opened the season by winning 11 straight between September 18 and February 9, claiming nine of those wins in that stretch in two sets. Wrapped up the regular season with eight consecutive wins between March 15 and April 11, including five in two sets. Had five wins in league action during her eight-match winning streak.
Jimena Paula Garbino ranks second on the team in singles wins with 14, followed by
Drousile Dzeubou with 13, as well as
Daniela Hernandez and
Hala Badwy, who have 11 singles victories apiece.
Dzeubou and Grigoriu are responsible for the most doubles wins on the ULM unit, 10, earning all 10 victories as the No. 2 seed. Badwy and
Oleksandra Balaba have claimed eight doubles wins, all as the No. 1 seeded pair, for the Warhawks.
Georgia State wrapped up the regular season with a 2-18 overall mark and an 0-10 record in league play. The Panthers are on a 13-match losing streak, which dates back to 4-3 setback to Chattanooga on February 27.
The top individual performer on the Georgia State team is Andreea Stanescu, who is 8-4 in dual play, winning three of those matches in No. 2 singles. Stanescu and teammate Ellie Aldrich are 8-4 in doubles action, tops on the Panthers, earning five of those victories in No. 2 doubles.
