UMKC Tennis Heads to Las Vegas for Summit League Cluster
3/14/2012 4:23:00 PM | Women's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The UMKC women's tennis team (4-7) kicks up conference play on Thursday when it heads to Las Vegas, Nevada for a five-team round-robin cluster, hosted by Southern Utah at Bally's Resort. The 'Roos will face South Dakota, IUPUI, Western Illinois and Southern Utah.
THE OPPONENTS
» UMKC vs. South Dakota » Mar. 15, 2012 » 3 p.m. (CT)
South Dakota comes into the weekend with a 10-4 overall record. The Coyotes are led by their No. 3, 5 and 6 players, in Shadi Soleymani (17-6), Veronika Makashov (20-6) and Yamini Reddy (21-5). UMKC is 3-1 all-time against the Coyotes, winning 7-0 the last two years.
» UMKC vs. IUPUI » Mar. 16, 2012 » 10 a.m.
IUPUI is 3-11 on the year and comes in losing its last three matches. The top two players are Alisha Cummings and Shelby Hullett, playing the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. UMKC is 5-8 overall against the Jaguars, but have won the last four meetings in the series.
» UMKC vs. Western Illinois » Mar. 16, 2012 » 3 p.m. (CT)
Western Illinois is 0-6 coming into conference play this weekend, and are a combined 3-33 in singles matches. Three players have claimed wins on the season. UMKC is only 2-15 against WIU, but has won the last two meetings in the series by shutout margins.
» UMKC vs. Southern Utah » Mar. 17, 2012 » 10 a.m. (CT)
The T-birds, who were picked to finish second ahead of UMKC, are 3-3 overall. They are paced by All-Summit League performers Ksusha Johnson, Alex Ivanova and Olia Tatarchenko. The 3-14 all-time against SUU, winning two of the last three meetings, including a 4-2 win in the Summit League Tournament semifinals last year.
LOAD 'EM UP
UMKC's current roster boasts four of the top five all-time winners in school history in Laura Bouet, Jillian Yakominich, Eva Dalvai, and Suzan Lisenby. The group includes three juniors and a senior (Yakominich).
The roster also has five of the top eight doubles players in school history, with the four mentioned players, along with senior Jessica Ball.
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Kendell Hale is in his fifth season as the head coach of the UMKC women's tennis program. Overall, the 2011-12 season is Hale's 18th as a collegiate head coach, and compiled a 317-214 overall combined record coming into 2012. He has a current 34-58 mark with the women. Hale has coached seven all-league selections and was selected at the 2009 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year.
In 2011, Hale guided the 'Roos to a school record 12 victories and a 6-2 mark in Summit League play. UMKC finished third in the regular season standings to qualify for the league tournament for the second straight year, and made it to the championship match for the first time in school history.
Before joining the UMKC coaching staff, Hale spent 11 years as the head coach at Rockhurst University, where he led the Hawks to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
Players Mentioned
