PENSACOLA, Fla. - No. 14 UWF women's tennis (9-5, 5-1 GSC) returns to the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex to host its first conference match in over a month as it takes on Valdosta State (3-6, 2-0 GSC) on Saturday, March 30 at 10 am. The Argos then stay home for their next contest, a huge one against No. 6 Auburn Montgomery (12-4, 5-1 GSC) on April 3 at 1 pm.
 
Previewing Valdosta State:
The Argos restart play after spring break with an always-tough matchup against VSU, the alma mater of head coach Derrick Racine. The Blazers have won their two GSC games this season convincingly, with a 7-0 sweep of Shorter and a 6-1 win over Montevallo. Their losses have come to top-ranked and six-time defending national champion Barry, No. 10 Lynn, No. 13 Columbus State, No. 8 Flagler, No. 12 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and NCAA D1 UConn. 
 
At the helm of VSU is legendary coach John Hansen, a 22-time conference Coach of the Year in his 52nd year in charge of the Blazers. He has coached 24 GSC Players of the Year, 10 women and 14 men, and led the men's team to national titles in 2006 and 2011. 
 
The UWF women hold a 24-10 lead in the series and are on a 19-match winning streak against VSU dating back to 2011. The Argos won both meetings last season with a 5-2 win in Valdosta and a 4-0 sweep in the GSC quarterfinals.
 
Previewing Auburn Montgomery:
UWF won't have too much turnaround time from that match as Auburn Montgomery comes to town four days later. The Warhawks are 3-4 against other teams in the ITA national rankings, with wins over No. 30 Cameron, who gave UWF a loss, No. 5 Saint Leo and No. 29 Mississippi College. 
 
AUM is led by first-year head coach Michael O'Brien, who has coached and played at all different levels throughout the state of Alabama. He started his college career at Central Alabama Community College, where he was head coach before moving to Montgomery. After playing at CACC, he transferred to former GSC rival North Alabama, where he helped lead the Lions to the D2 national tournament, before moving again to play his final year at D1 South Alabama, where he won a Sun Belt Conference title and defeated the University of Alabama in the opening round of the D1 national tournament. 
 
The Argos and Warhawks are tied in the all-time series with nine wins apiece. AUM won the first six matchups and UWF took the next eight from 2013-2021. The former then won three more in a row, including 2022 in the GSC semifinals and last season in the regular season on AUM's campus, before the Argos got revenge and evened the series once again in the 2023 GSC semifinals. 
 
UWF Updates:
The Argos moved up a spot in this week's ITA national rankings after a 2-2 week with wins over Henderson State and Shorter and tough setbacks to Johns Hopkins and North Georgia. The team does receive its first individual national ranking of the season this week, as Aline Midori Da Silva comes in at No. 63 in this week's singles rankings. Already ranked No. 14 in the South Region rankings, the sophomore from Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, boasts a 10-4 record at No. 2 singles to go with an 8-5 record in doubles with partner Guadalupe Martinez.   
 
For complete information on UWF Tennis, follow the team at @TennisUWF on X and @uwfwomenstennis on Instagram.