TEMPE, Ariz. (ITA/TAMUK) – The Texas A&M University-Kingsville women's tennis program will head into the Lone Star Conference Tournament later this week as the No. 50 program in the nation in the Oracle/ITA rankings following the 1-1 weekend to close out the regular season.

The Javelinas suffered only the second loss in their last eight matches at the hands of then-No. 7 St. Mary's on Tuesday as the Rattlers snapped the unbeaten streak at four with a 7-2 decision. TAMUK had defeated Western New Mexico earlier in the weekend, 7-2, to close conference play.

The conference tournament will take place at the H.E.B. Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, starting on Friday as the Blue and Gold enter the tourney as the fourth seed in the conference following a 4-2 mark against LSC foes. The Javelinas will face fifth-seeded Angelo State while the winner will take on top-seeded Midwestern State, currently ranked 14th.

Heading into the tournament, the Javelinas will be led by five individuals with at least 10 wins in singles play over the dual season as sophomore Valerie Ruiz (San Antonio, Texas) spearheads the look with a 14-6 mark and riding an 11-match unbeaten streak.

Ruiz has anchored the No. 5 singles spot as of late and owns a 9-2 record for TAMUK at the flight.

Close behind is classmate Stephanie Baerman (San Antonio, Texas) who is 13-6 on the year with a 9-2 mark at the No. 6 spot. Baerman recently had a 10-match unbeaten streak come to an end at St. Mary's.

Sophomore Julia Rauer (Sasbach, Germany) follows up Baerman with a 12-9 mark as the primary No. 4 singles matchup, owning a 7-4 mark at the spot, while freshman Laura Montalvo (Cochabamba, Bolivia) anchors the No. 3 spot in single play with a 6-6 mark with an 11-8 record overall.

Junior Phonephathep Philavong (Vientiane, Laos) handles the No. 2 spot with a 10-7 mark, 11-11 overall, to round out the double-digit Javelinas, while sophomore Victoria Romanovskaia (Simferopol, Crimea) owns the top spot with a 7-15 overall mark.

The Rambelles enter the LSC Tournament with a 15-8 overall mark, 3-3 in LSC play, following a defeat at the hands of then-No. 6 Central Oklahoma at 5-0. ASU has dropped three of its last four matches in the dual season, including a 5-4 decision at the hands of the Javelinas.

The match between ASU and TAMUK took place in San Angelo, Texas, and the Rambelles took two of the three doubles matchups with Montalvo and Baerman taking the lone point for the Javelinas at 9-8 over Ena Ovcina and Maria Delgadillo.

TAMUK took over in singles play from there, getting four of the six matchups as Rauer, Ruiz and Philavong all took three-set wins in their respective bouts while Baerman needed identical 7-5, 7-5 scores over Lucie Maitrot at the No. 6 spot to help secure the team win for the visitors.

The winner of the TAMUK/ASU match will go on to face No. 14 Midwestern State later in the day on April 20 as the Mustangs trot out a top-heavy lineup with Maddy Coffman, Bianca Duff and Daria Panferova have at least 14 wins at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots, respectively.

Coffman sits at 14-6 as the No. 1 singles matchup, Duff owns a 14-8 mark at the No. 2 spot and Panferova rounds out the trio with a 15-1 mark in the No. 3 flight.

In doubles play, Duff teamed up with Greta Lazzarotto over the year and turned in a perfect 20-0 mark at the No. 2 duo for MSU, while Coffman paired off with Ashley Ramirez for a 17-3 mark at the No. 1 combo and Panferova owns a 17-0 mark as the No. 3 tandem.

The Javelinas will square off with the Rambelles at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 20, at the H.E.B. Tennis Center in Corpus Christi while the winner will move on to face the Mustangs at 6 p.m. later that same day.

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