MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will play on the road against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Friday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the teams are set to meet at the Granville "Buck" Bouldin Tennis Center in a non-conference matchup.
 
Samford (4-4) enters Friday's contest with a full head of steam after defeating Lamar, 6-1, on Saturday in a match held at home in the Samford Tennis Center. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 4-1 when playing at home this season.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Samford breezed past the Lamar Cardinals, 6-1, in a non-conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center. With the win, the Bulldogs rebounded from a hard-fought loss at No. 71-ranked Mississippi State and improved to 4-0 mark when facing unranked opponents. All four of Samford's losses this season have come against foes tabbed among the nation's top 75.
 
On Saturday, Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Lamar by grabbing the doubles point. The Bulldogs' No. 1 tandem comprised of Carita Moolman and Stephanie N'tcha clinched the competition with a thrilling 8-7 (6) triumph over the Cardinals Katya Lapayeva and Carolina Maco.
 
Samford's first doubles win occurred on court No. 2 as Jessica Northcutt and Yasmeen Ebada rolled past Lamar's combination of Andrea Ivanovic and Anna Spengler, 8-2.
 
In singles play, the Bulldogs' notched quick straight-set victories on every court except No. 5. Samford's N'tcha, Ebada, Northcutt, Moolman and Savannah Wood all proved to be triumphant in the dual match.
 
Moolman, the Bulldogs' athletic junior from Abomey-Calavi, Benin, defeated Lamar's Maso on court No. 4, 6-2, 6-3, to remain undefeated on the season at 5-0.
 
MOOLMAN GARNERS SOCON'S TOP WEEKLY HONOR
Samford's Moolman was named the Southern Conference's Women's Tennis Player of the Week Tuesday after the Bulldogs' junior netter registered a perfect 3-0 record in dual-match play last week. The honor was awarded by the SoCon league office for all matches played Feb. 16-22.
 
Moolman proved to be the second straight Samford women's tennis player to garner the SoCon's top weekly honor. Last week, N'tcha was named the conference's player of the week after tallying a 3-0 record against opponents from No. 28-ranked Auburn and Jacksonville State.
 
Moolman finished with a perfect 3-0 record last week as the Bulldogs squared off against No. 71-ranked Mississippi State and Lamar in non-conference action.
 
A junior native of Aranos, Namibia, Moolman registered a 2-0 mark in singles play with victories against Mississippi State's Louise Ronaldson, 6-3, 7-5, and Lamar's Carolina Maso, 6-2, 6-3. Her triumph against Mississippi State proved to record Samford's lone point of the match.
 
In doubles play, Moolman paired with N'tcha to outlast Lamar's combination of Katya Lapayeva and Maso, 8-7(6), en route to the Bulldogs' lopsided 6-1 triumph over the Cardinals on Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Middle Tennessee (8-3) has been victorious in five of its last six outings, but is coming off a 5-0 loss at No. 71-ranked Mississippi State on Saturday. Prior to their loss at Mississippi State, the Blue Raiders rattled off five straight victories against Georgia State, 6-1, Florida Gulf Coast, 7-0, UT Martin, 7-0, Old Dominion, 5-2, and VCU, 4-3.
 
In its most recent matchup at Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee saw its five-match win streak come to an end with a 5-0 loss on Saturday.
 
The Blue Raiders did not win a set in dropping five singles matches; however, Tiffany William and Giulia Squadrin had competitive showings in their setbacks.
 
Mississippi State's Georgiana Patrasc, ranked No. 77 nationally, captured a 7-6 (3), 6-4 decision against Middle Tennessee's William at No. 1 singles. Squadrin put up a good fight but fell 3-6, 6-7 (3) to Louise Ronaldson at No. 4 singles.
 
Jasmine Lee defeated Darya Shulzhanok 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, and Martina Frantova earned a 6-1, 6-2 win against Jesse Grace at No. 3.
 
Brittany Huxley suffered a 2-6, 0-6 setback against State's Jennifer Brown at No. 5 singles.
 
IN LAST SEASON'S MEETING
Samford continued its impressive play in the young 2014 spring season on Jan. 31, as the Bulldogs reeled off a dominant 6-1 non-conference victory against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders held indoors at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford swept the doubles point and earned an early 1-0 advantage over Middle Tennessee. In singles play, the Bulldogs received quick straight-set victories from N'tcha, Emily Mallory and Lauren Caballero to secure the team win.
 
Additionally, Samford's Ebada and Northcutt both tallied three-set triumphs over their Blue Raider counterparts on courts No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
 
NEXT UP
Following Friday's non-conference contest at Middle Tennessee, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in a pivotal South Region matchup to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.