KINGSVILLE, Texas – Coming off back-to-back victories, including a win in their 2022 Lone Star Conference opener, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team will now travel to California for three matches in four days to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule.
TAMUK's time in the Golden State starts with a Tuesday match against the Concordia Eagles at 12 p.m. in Irvine, Calif., followed by a 3 p.m. tilt with the Point Loma Sea Lions on Wednesday in San Diego, then the Javs will face the Biola Eagles on Friday at 12 p.m. in La Miranda, Calif.
TAMUK' last two victories have been characterized by excellent singles play, as they've dropped only one singles match between their wins over Prairie View A&M and UT Permian Basin. By defeating the Falcons, the Javs have started their Lone Star Conference schedule with a win for the fourth time in five seasons.
Two of the team's best singles players of late have been sophomore Alessa Maier (Hechingen, Germany) and junior Viktoriia Grigoreva (Tver, Russia). Grigoreva contributed to TAMUK's win over UTPB by taking the sixth flight in straight sets and she's started her first year in Blue and Gold by winning her first five singles matches. Each of those triumphs has come in straight sets and against the Falcons, Grigoreva teamed up with Maier in doubles play to win the third flight.
For Maier, that represented the fourth straight doubles victory she was part of and as a team, the Javelinas are 5-2 in the third flight so far in 2022. On the singles side, Maier has taken three of her last four contests and she dropped only three total games against the Panthers and Falcons. The sophomore from Germany can make it three straight wins against Concordia, which would match a win streak she put together in April of 2021.
In California, the Javelinas will be facing three teams with winning records, including a Biola squad that is 13-1 and ranked No. 11 in the nation. Owners of a 13-1 record, the Eagles have already matched their win total from 2021, when they earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA West Regional Tournament.
One of the teams Biola has defeated on their way to a 13-1 record was Concordia with a 6-1 decision that stopped a three-match win streak by the Eagles. CUI is off to a 6-5 start one year after a 15-5 record also allowed them to reach the NCAA Tournament, the first time they accomplished that feat since moving to Division II in 2015.
Point Loma has collected four victories in their last five match on their way to a 10-5 record. Their most productive player has been Amanda Letzring. The sophomore from San Diego has won six-in-a-row to boost her record to 11-3 and has not lost in March.
To keep up with Javelina tennis throughout the season, follow @JavelinaTennis on Twitter and Instagram, like the Javelina Sports Facebook page, subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
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