MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The Mulerider Women's tennis team returns to action this weekend with a Friday morning matchup in Arkadelphia followed by two matches on Saturday at a site TBD. Southern Arkansas takes on Dallas Baptist from inside Ouachita's Ward Tennis Complex on Friday and is scheduled to matchup against #23 Angelo State (11 a.m.) and Delta State (3 p.m.) on Saturday. Fans can follow the live scoring of the home matches at
https://ioncourt.com/my-teams/62373d3d784bc0f5cc6455e2/schedule.
The Muleriders prepare for their first Division II competition of the season after matching up against NAIA Louisiana Christian and Division I Louisiana Tech in exhibitions.
Expectations are high for a Southern Arkansas squad in its sixth season since being revived for play in 2018-19. The Muleriders will benefit greatly from the play of 2023 GAC Freshman of the Year
Annika Berrendorf and 2023 All-GAC Second Team performer
Greta Wallin. The pair won the GAC Flight 1 doubles competition in the fall. Junior
Inna Serpukhova claimed the GAC Flight 7 singles title last semester and true freshman
Roksana Kokocha won the league's Flight 5 singles title.
Berrendorf and Wallin highlight a balanced spring roster of ten players which includes four true freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and three seniors. Internationally, Owen's squad represents Austria, Germany, Northern Ireland, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States.
SAU and Dallas Baptist meet for the eighth time since 2003, but just the second since SAU's program was revived for action in 2018-19. The Muleriders edged DBU 4-2 on March 2, 2019 to take the series lead 4-3. DBU enters Friday's action 3-0 with wins over MSU Denver (4-0), Colorado College (7-0) and CSU Pueblo (6-1). At the conclusion of the fall season, DBU's Isabella Rios and Sofia Terna were ranked No. 9 nationally in doubles play.
Southern Arkansas and Angelo State meet for the third time after first meeting on February 21, 2021 in Arkadelphia. ASU won the first two meetings 5-2 and 6-1 (Lawton, Okla.) with Saturday morning's matchup the first between the foes in Magnolia. The Rambelles carried the #13 and #20 rankings, respectively, into the first two meetings and are ranked #23 nationally entering the weekend. ASU heads east with a 2-0 record after recording 7-0 wins over Hardin-Simmons and Seward County.
Last season's 6-1 Mulerider win over Delta State in Arkadelphia was the first ever for the SAU Women after having lost their previous 14 matchups to the Lady Statesmen. Saturday's contest will be just the second since the 2018-19 season with last year's match the first between the longtime Gulf South Conference foes since March 2010. Delta State matched up with Meridian CC on Tuesday with Saturday's action the squad's first DII action in 2024.
Since 2018-19, the first year of competition under current head coach Greg Owen, the Muleriders are 25-10 at home which included a winning streak of 17 to open play at the renovated Live Oak Tennis Courts. The Muleriders have finished with a winning home record in four of Owen's previous six seasons. Due to weather, SAU may have to wait on its home opener as Saturday's matches are likely to be moved to another indoor location. More information will be made available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
