MONROE, La. – The ULM tennis team makes its return to Heard Stadium this weekend when it hosts a pair of Sun Belt Conference matches against UT Arlington and Texas State. The Warhawks open the weekend with a 10 a.m. match against UT Arlington on Saturday, April 3, and then host Texas State on Sunday, April 4, at 10 a.m.
The Warhawks, who are 4-1 at home this season, look to reach double-digit team victories for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. ULM, 8-4 overall and 2-3 in Sun Belt Conference action, did not reach the mark in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled much of the season.
ULM has won five of its last seven matches of the 2021 slate, including back-to-back victories over Northwestern State and Arkansas State last week. Among those five victories for the Warhawks, two have come against Sun Belt Conference opposition Texas State and Arkansas State.
Madalina Grigoriu leads the way for the Warhawks in singles victories with 17, earning nine in dual competition. She is followed on the team by
Drousile Dzeubou, who has 13,
Jimena Paula Garbino with 12 and
Hala Badwy with 11. Dzeubou and Grigoriu also make up the top doubles unit for the Warhawks with an 8-4 record.
UT Arlington is 12-3 on the season and 5-0 in Sun Belt Conference play entering the weekend. The Mavericks won their last match in 4-0 fashion over Texas State on Sunday, March 28. Two UT Arlington individuals have double-digit wins on the season, including Carla Pons, who is 17-3 overall and 12-1 in dual matches. Polina Akimova is 10-3 on the season and 8-1 in dual matches. Pons and teammate Almudena Boza make up the top doubles unit for the Mavericks, owning a 9-1 mark.
Texas State (5-8, 0-4 Sun Belt) will face the Warhawks on Sunday after clashing with the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday. The Bobcats have lost four of their last five matches with the exception being a 4-1 triumph over Tarleton State on March 27.
Hana Kvapilova leads Texas State in singles play with an 11-4 mark, earning 10 of those victories in dual play. Kvapilova is 9-1 overall this season as the Bobcats' No. 1 seed. Teammate Andrea Fuchs has the second-most singles wins with seven.
Kvapilova and teammate Rishona Israel-Lewis make up the top doubles team for the Bobcats, owning a 9-4 mark on the season and an 8-1 record in dual action. All eight of the dual wins have come as Texas State's No. 1 doubles pair.
