PENSACOLA, Fla. – West Florida Women's Tennis team is finally back at the friendly confines of the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex this weekend after spending their first month of the season on the road. Playing in what will be their first home match since early 2020, the Argonauts will look to continue their early-season success against two of the top-rated NAIA programs in the nation.

These programs include the #2 ranked NAIA program in Keiser University who West Florida will face on Friday as well as the #3 ranked NAIA program in Xavier University of Louisiana who the Argos will take on Sunday.

As the #7 ranked Division II program themselves, the Argonauts come into the weekend with a record of 5-1 after a solid performance from the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. After falling in a heartbreaker to #13 Angelo State on the first day of competition, the Argos were able to bounce back on the final two days and take down two top-ranked opponents. With wins over #5 Columbus State and #10 Flagler in consecutive days, West Florida was able to finish fifth in the tournament in what was a great weekend of competition for the Argonauts.

About the Argos: Similar to how they started the 2020 Spring season, the Argonauts are once again blazing trails in the 2021 season starting with an impressive 5-1 record on the year. This record includes a perfect 3-0 record against conference opponents as well as a 2-1 record against ranked opponents.

Junior, Berta Bonardi, is once again dominating the competition to start the year going 5-0 from the No. 1 position for the Argonauts. As the number one ranked singles player in Division II, Bonardi showed why she was crowned with such an honor by taking down three top-ranked singles players in straight sets from the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. This performance helped Bonardi get awarded with the Gulf South Conference Player of the Week for the ninth time in her career.

Alongside Bonardi, Freshman Sara Yigin has also started 2021 in a strong way going 6-0 in singles play to start her collegiate career. Now a two-time GSC Freshman of the Week, Yigin has stepped onto the Division II tennis scene and dominated. In doubles, Yigin has teamed up with Bonardi from the No. 1 doubles position to go 5-1 on the season, becoming a pairing the Argos can rely on early in the year.

Scouting Keiser: The Seahawks come into Friday's match with an impressive record of 7-1 to start their season. As the #2 ranked NAIA program, Keiser has taken down three ranked opponents so far on the year with their only loss coming to another Division II program in Flagler.

With a 10-3 record to close out last season, the Seahawks were just finding their rhythm before the season came to a halt due to the pandemic.

Bolstered by this success last season, the Seahawks were picked to finish first in this year's Sun Conference's Preseason Poll, as they return a great deal of depth from last year's squad. With four players ranked in the top 25 of the NAIA in singles, the Seahawks pose to be a difficult opponent to whomever they go up against.

Scouting Xavier (La.): As another NAIA powerhouse, Xavier (La.) comes into Sunday's match as the #3 ranked NAIA team after a strong start to their year. The Gold Nuggets only two losses so far on the year came at the hands of Division I opponent South Alabama as well as top-ranked NAIA program, Georgia Gwinnett.

In the Southern States Preseason Poll, Xavier (La.) narrowly beat out William Carey for the top spot in the conference rankings securing the recognition by just one point.

Xavier (La.), who is lead by two players who rank in the top five in singles at the NAIA level, will put their record to the test in what should be a great weekend of tennis from the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex.

The Stretch at Home: This weekend marks the first games of a five-game home stretch that will run through most of the month of March for the Argos. During this run, UWF will face two top-five NAIA opponents as well as two nationally-ranked Division II opponents for what should be a very competitive month for West Florida. 

Schedule for the Weekend: Action is scheduled to begin on Friday when West Florida will take on Keiser at 1 PM from the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex. Then after a day off on Saturday, UWF will take on Xavier (La.) at 10:00 AM to finish out the weekend.

How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Women's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at @TennisUWF on Twitter and @uwfwomenstennis on Instagram.