PENSACOLA, Fla.- The nationally ranked No. 22 West Florida women's tennis team will kick off the spring season with their first match against South Alabama on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. The match is set to take place at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts in Mobile, Ala. Admission will be free to fans coming to watch the match. 

ABOUT UWF
West Florida looks to get started on the right foot with a No. 22 national ranking based on the ITA Preseason Coaches Poll. Standouts Mayumi Saguchi and Sara Yigin look to take charge with six returners and six freshmen. A few newcomers include Guadalupe Martinez, Jenna Svatos, and Catharina Schoch.

From the No. 1 position, Yigin went 9-10 overall and 2-3 against nationally ranked opponents. The junior from Ulm, Germany earned All-GSC Second Team honors to close out the 2021-22 season. Senior Saguchi went 12-7 from the No. 3 position and ended the season on a five-match win streak. 

The Argonauts finished last season with a 14-11 overall record and 8-2 Gulf South Conference record. West Florida entered the GSC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, but they dropped a heartbreaker to the No. 2 seed Auburn Montgomery 4-3 in the GSC semifinals to end their season. Yigin battled for four hours in singles against Sofia Navarro; the match was determined by a tiebreaker.

Head tennis coach Derrick Racine is in his 23^rd year at the helm of the West Florida men's and women's tennis programs. Since becoming head coach at UWF, Racine has continued to practice tradition and excellence in the programs. On the women's side, UWF has won 16 GSC titles with a 496-157 overall record under Racine.

ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA
The Jaguars are undefeated to start the 2023 campaign with wins over West Alabama 5-2 and a 6-1 win over Auburn Montgomery. In both matches played this season, the South has won the lone point in doubles. Doubles duo Luminita Tutunaru and Nikola Notvotna have been a threat as a pair going 1-1 as well as Chems Doha Zeghlouli and her partner Delien Kleinhans as they are undefeated this season. The South looks to continue their five-match home stretch as they take on Mobile and No. 22 West Florida over the weekend. 

Jaco Keyser is in his 21^st season coaching at South Alabama. As head coach, Keyser has the most wins in school history with 316 and has led the South to six NCAA tournament appearances and four Sun Belt Conference titles.

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.