TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Samford University women's tennis team is eager to compete in its biggest tournament of the 2014 fall season this weekend as the Bulldogs head to the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships to be held Friday through Monday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium, Alabama Rec Courts and potentially the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.
The talent-laden field of the four-day competition will consist of 114 players from 19 teams. The schools competing in the 2014 USTA-ITA Southern Regional Championships are Samford, Alabama, Auburn, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, LSU, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, South Alabama, Southern Miss. Troy, Tulane and UAB.
The tournament is slated to begin at 8 a.m. (CDT) Friday through Sunday, with Monday's events scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Samford will continue play in its 2014 fall season this weekend boasting an extremely talented team. The Bulldogs will be led by seniors
Stephanie N'tcha,
AnnMarie Lyon and
Yasmeen Ebada, as well as juniors
Carita Moolman and
Jessica Northcutt.
Samford also boasts the play of talented sophomore
Lauren Caballero, while also bolstering its depth this season with the addition of highly-touted true freshman
Savannah Wood from Woodstock, Ga.
Last week, the Bulldogs' Moolman earned the championship title of the 2014 Gold Singles Draw of the Steve Baras Classic on Sunday as the Bulldogs' junior rallied for a thrilling 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 come-from-behind victory over Eastern Kentucky's Marcela Jimenez on the final day of action held at The Champions Club.
Moolman, Samford's up-and-coming native of Aranos, Namibia, concluded the tournament with an unblemished 3-0 record in singles play.
The Bulldogs also claimed a title in the Blue Doubles Draw where Moolman teamed with N'tcha to defeat UAB's combination of Caroline Faught and Catherine Ragon in the consolation title match, 8-3. Samford's duo of Moolman and N'tcha finished the weekend with a solid 2-1 record.
Wood claimed third place in the Choo Choo Singles Draw on Sunday as she cruised past Eastern Kentucky's Dominica Hadnadova, 6-3, 6-1. The Bulldogs' Wood closed out the competition with a 2-1 singles record.
Action in the 2014 USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships will begin at 8 a.m. (CDT) Friday and will last throughout the day.
