PENSACOLA, Fla. - West Florida women's tennis (0-1) begins conference play on Saturday at 10 am against Lee (2-0, 1-0 GSC) at the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex after the Shorter match earlier this month was postponed. The team will then make the trip to Clinton, Miss., for a match at No. 21 Mississippi College (3-2) on Wednesday, February 28, at 1 pm.
The Argos enter the GSC slate still looking for their first win after a season-opening sweep by South Alabama. Lee enters the match in first place in the GSC standings thanks to its unbeaten record with a 5-2 win over last-place Delta State. Mississippi College is the first ranked opponent on the schedule for women's tennis, as the Choctaws own wins over Harding, UT Tyler and Henderson State with a pair of 4-3 losses to D1 Jackson State and Southern Arkansas.
The Flames finished 2023 with a 10-6 overall record and a 6-4 record in GSC play to finish fifth in the league standings. They boast the No. 20 singles player in the ITA Preseason South Region Singles Rankings in Ashleigh Simes. Lee is coached by Patric Hynes, in his 10th season in charge of the program. UWF owns a 10-1 all-time record over the Flames. The lone loss came in the teams' last meeting a year ago in Cleveland, Tenn., a 4-3 thriller that came down to the final singles match in which Lee's Maria Duarte topped
Raissa Wagner in three sets.
Mississippi College registered a 15-5 overall mark and a 7-3 conference record to come in at fourth in the final GSC standings, just behind the Argos at No. 3. Ranked No. 21 in the latest national poll, the Choctaws have the No. 6 doubles pair in the ITA Preseason South Region Doubles Rankings in Fernanda Cota and Elyangelica Alas. The head coach of the Choctaws is Michael Ward, in his second season with the program. UWF has never lost in its 12 all-time meetings with MC, the two latest coming in 4-3 wins each of the last two seasons in Pensacola.
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