KINGSVILLE, Texas – After handling the UT Permian Basin Falcons in their Lone Star Conference opener, then finishing their non-conference schedule with three matches in California, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team will dive back into LSC play on Saturday, when they'll visit the St. Mary's Rattlers for a 1 p.m. match at the Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex in San Antonio.
The Javelinas have arrived at the season's final month with a 6-6 record coming of consecutive losses, but they also have an opportunity to reach 2-0 in league play for the second time in the last three conference seasons. They'll also be gunning for the program's first-ever road win over the Rattlers.
Sophomore Alessa Maier (Hechingen, Germany) is playing some of the best tennis in the LSC of late and she's riding a career-best five-match win streak that's spanned nearly all of March. Maier has not dropped a set during any of those five triumphs and her singles play has been complemented by five wins in her last doubles matches. Maier's play has allowed her to rise as high as No. 55 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings.
St. Mary's has gotten off to an 8-2 start and they capped more than a month of non-conference action by defeating 45th-ranked Florida Southern on Saturday. The Rattlers are also a perfect 5-0 at home in 2022 and they'll be attempting to push their home win streak to eight-in-a-row.
The Rattlers have been nearly unbeatable in doubles play, winning that portion of that match in nine of 10 contests. In the first and third flights, StMU has a combined record of 16-3 and their most successful pairing has been that of senior Marina Vigil and junior Gabi Ioannou, who've teamed up to go 4-1. Vigil is one of three different playing partners Ioannou has had so far in her junior season and the native of Melbourne, Australia is 6-1 overall in doubles play.
For a recap of all the action in San Antonio on Saturday, check Javelinaathletics.com. 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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