Women's Tennis Faces Lipscomb, SEMO This Weekend

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University women's tennis returns to competition this weekend, playing at Lipscomb Friday before hosting Southeast Missouri Saturday.

The Bruins (3-8) have played one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the nation to date, coming off an impressive 6-1 victory over Wofford March 3.

Belmont earned the doubles' point before straight-set victories at top-3 singles from Maria Hlahola, Abi Solomon and Anastasiya Zholdakova respectively, secured the match win. Meredith Roberts and Libbie Hamilton also pulled out singles' wins with hard-earned, three-set triumphs.

Though the calendar has just turned to March, remarkably five Bruins have earned weekly honors from the Missouri Valley Conference. 

For the week of March 1, Zholdakova received MVC Singles Player of the Week honors while Solomon and Viktoria Kliimand were named MVC Doubles Team of the Week.

Furthermore, Zholdakova and Hlahola rank No. 42 nationally in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Doubles Rankings.

Hlahola currently holds a team-high 14 singles victories, providing consistent play at the top of the lineup.

Lipscomb (3-7), picked ninth in the ASUN preseason poll, is coming off a 5-2 setback at UAB last week. Kate Popova has five match victories this season at No. 1 singles.

Meanwhile, Southeast Missouri (7-2), the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite, defeated Missouri State last time out. Daniela Hlacikova was named OVC Player of the Week March 1.

First serve at Lipscomb is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.

First serve vs. Southeast Missouri is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday from the Belmont Tennis Complex.

Follow Belmont women's tennis on social media – @BelmontWTennis on Twitter and @belmontwtennis on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.