SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will wrap up its six-match home stand with a pair of contests against former Southland Conference foes this weekend at the UTSA Tennis Center.
The Roadrunners (3-1) will host Stephen F. Austin (2-2) at 1 p.m. on Saturday before welcoming Northwestern State (3-3) for an 11 a.m. tilt the following day and admission to both matches is free.
The Roadrunners, who are coming off last Sunday's 7-0 shutout of UT Rio Grande Valley, have been led in the early going this spring by Miriam Rosell Canudas, the nation's 118th-ranked singles player.
The senior from Torello, Spain, has a perfect 4-0 record as the team's top singles player and she also has teamed up with freshman Kylee Kato for a spotless 4-0 mark as the squad's top doubles pairing.
Kato also is unbeaten in singles play at 3-0.
Stephen F. Austin bounced back from two consecutive losses to open the season with a pair of 5-2 wins against Northeastern State and Prairie View A&M back on Feb. 4. Five Ladyjacks are tied for the team lead with two singles victories apiece, including Liza Aginskaya, who sports a perfect 2-0 ledger. SFA will square off with Texas State on Friday before taking on the Roadrunners the following afternoon.
Meanwhile, Northwestern State also has bounced back from consecutive setbacks to begin the spring. The Lady Demons have won three straight outings after dropping three in a row to open the year. Northwestern State, which will take on Texas State on Saturday before coming to the Alamo City, have wins against Louisiana-Lafayette (4-0 on Feb. 9), Southern Miss (5-2 on Feb. 11) and Louisiana Tech (4-3 on Feb. 12) in the past week. Iryna Vardanian is the only Lady Demon who sports a winning singles ledger at 4-1, while two doubles tandems have won three matches.
UTSA leads the all-time series with Stephen F. Austin, 16-10, while holding a 14-11 advantage against Northwestern State. The Ladyjacks won their sixth consecutive match against the Roadrunners with a 5-2 decision on Jan. 24 a year ago. UTSA has won two straight against Northwestern State and three of the last four meetings overall, including last season's 5-2 triumph on Feb. 19.
