KEARNEY, Neb. -- Midwestern State opens its 2023 campaign with a match on Friday and two matches Saturday at the newly opened Ernest Grundy Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State returns seven letter winners for last season's squad which advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason for the ninth consecutive season. Anda Ghinga, who earned All-Lone Star Conference honors in both singles and doubles in each of the last two seasons leads the strong returning class. Emilija Visic garnered All-Lone Star Conference second-team honors for her play in singles and doubles last season. Sophomore Hannah Yip garnered All-LSC first-team honors in doubles last season posting a 23-5 overall mark including an 18-2 run at the No. 1 line. Junior Skylar Minns boasted 35 combined wins last season, while the Mustangs also received quality contributions from senior Ethne Dowling, sophomore Kanaha Furutani, and sophomore Sydney Williams. Midwestern State added three quality transfers to the mix for 2023 including fifth-year seniors Amelia Lawson and Alice Di Matteo as well as sophomore Micaela McSpadden.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY | Friday, Feb. 3 | 4 p.m.
- Nebraska-Kearney was 11-10 last season and had four All-MIAA picks.
- UNK went 6-0 in the fall and also competed in two open tournaments.
- UNK is picked to finish fifth in the 2023 MIAA preseason coaches' poll.
- Lopers are receiving votes in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 25 poll with juniors Melisa Becerra (Colombia) and Jazmin Zamorano (Mexico) ranked eighth in the Central Regional in doubles with Zamorano (seventh), Becerra (12th) and sophomore Narindra Ranaivo (20th) all ranked in singles.
- UNK is led by head coach Scott Shafer, who was a top assistant to Jake Saulsbury for six years before being elevated to head coach in the summer of 2019.
- MSU is 5-0 all-time against UNK, including a 4-3 victory last March in Wichita Falls.

MSU DENVER | Saturday, Feb. 4 | 8 a.m.
- MSU Denver finished the fall portion of the schedule with a 3-1 record. The Roadrunners were 12-10 last season.
- Marie Cool played No. 6 singles in the fall and No. 3 in an exhibition against Colorado State last weekend. Cool went 13-12 in singles and was 16-9 in doubles last year.
- Isabel Heras played No. 1 singles against Colorado State after posting a 12-15 record in singles last year. Heras enters the 2022-23 season with the seventh-best doubles winning percentage in program history at .696 (32-14).
- Josh Graetz is the fifth-year head coach at MSU Denver and is a former All-American for the Roadrunners.
- Midwestern State is 11-1 all-time against the Roadrunners and has won the last seven meetings, including a 6-1 victory in Wichita Falls two years ago.

AUGUSTANA | Saturday, Feb. 4 | 1 p.m.
-Augustana has been picked first in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Vikings collected all 11 first place votes while totaling 121 total votes. This is the 12th-straight season that Augustana has been selected as the preseason favorite.
- The Vikings return six women from last year's NSIC championship squad. Florentia Hadjigeorgiou was 20-0 in NSIC singles play and 16-4 in doubles competition last year. Hadjigeorgiou is currently ranked as the No.11 team in the nation in doubles with partner Senem Ocal, and she is No. 11 in the regional singles rankings.
- Augustana has gone undefeated in each of the past 12 NSIC regular seasons, including 11-straight NSIC Tournament Championships and 12 NSIC regular season championships. The Vikings are 140-0 in NSIC regular season matches.
- Marc Kurtz is entering his 19th as the head coach at Augustana and has an impressive 273-51 record on the women's side.
- Midwestern State is meeting Augustana for the first time on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State is hosting Southeastern Oklahoma at MSU Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.