Women's Tennis Visits Birmingham, Alabama, for Two Weekend Matches

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wrapping up a strenuous six-match road swing, the Belmont University women's tennis team returns to match action this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. The Bruins (3-2) face host Samford Saturday at 12 p.m. before taking on Southern Miss in a neutral-site match Sunday morning at 8 a.m. Both matches will be played at the Bulldogs' Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavillion.
 
There will not be any live scoring for either match.
 
Starting the season 3-0 for the first time since 2006, Belmont nearly upset Southeastern Conference mainstay Mississippi State last weekend after taking two points off of Ole Miss. Despite going 0-2 in their trip to the Magnolia State, the Bruins were impressive with straight-set No. 1 and No. 4 singles wins against the Rebels courtesy of sophomore Mariia Hlahola and junior Abi Solomon. Last Sunday afternoon, Belmont came within only three points of defeating the Bulldogs after claiming the doubles point and getting singles victories from freshman Vesa Gjinaj and junior Anastasiya Zholdakova.
 
Winning both of their matches last weekend at the top doubles spot, Hlahola and Zholdakova were tabbed Missouri Valley Conference Doubles Team of the Week this past Wednesday. The pair's second career MVC Doubles Team of the Week award came after the duo defeated Ole Miss' No. 1 doubles team 6-4 last Saturday and cruised past Mississippi State's top tandem 6-1 last Sunday.
 
The Bruins have not played Samford since the 2019 season when the Bulldogs got past Belmont 6-1 in Birmingham. Sunday morning will be the first-ever meeting between the Bruins and the Golden Eagles.
 
Samford (2-1) enters the weekend with home wins over Alabama State (5-2) and North Alabama (5-2). The Bulldogs' lone loss came 5-2 at Mississippi State on Jan. 20.
 
Southern Miss (1-2) split home matches with Florida A&M (0-4) and Southeastern Louisiana (5-1) to begin its season before suffering a 4-1 setback at Northwestern State last Sunday.
 
Up Next
Belmont returns to the Music City next weekend to host Gonzaga from the West Coast on Saturday, Feb. 17. First serve from the Ensworth Tennis Center is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Follow Belmont women's tennis on social media – @BelmontWTennis on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontwtennis on Instagram and Belmont Women's Tennis on Facebook – 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.