Kangaroos Get Back on the Court, Head to Saint Louis
4/3/2014 5:13:00 PM | Women's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The Kansas City women's tennis team (5-11) will be back in action for the first time in two weeks on Friday when it hits the road with the men's team for a contest against Saint Louis at 2:00 p.m.
THE OPPONENT
Saint Louis comes into the weekend with an 11-4 overall record and have won five straight matches. The Billikens are paced by No. 1 player Aspen Cervin, who posts a 17-6 overall record. All six starters have double digit wins, and the No. 1-3 positions are all strong, with a combined 33-12 record. The 'Roos have never defeated the Billikens in women's tennis, sitting 0-14, including a 6-1 loss last season.
Who is Competing
All seven players are available for the match, Dimitra Stavrianakou, Raquel Argenal, Amelie Amsallem, Maddie Schulte, Mariam Kurasbediani, Gaby Pintos, and Linda Ammar Mouhoub.
RECORD START
Kansas City women's tennis started the season 3-0, making it the best start in school history.
Media Guide Online
The 2014 UMKC women's tennis media guide is online at UMKCKangaroos.com.
THE WAC
WAC play will have no regular season champion crowned, only a conference tournament champion. The teams will be seeded in the league tournament based on ITA rankings. The WAC Tournament will be played April 25-27 in Las Cruces, N.M., hosted by New Mexico State.
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Kendell Hale is in his seventh season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. Overall, the 2013-14 season will be Hale's 20th as a collegiate head coach, where he compiled a 364-267 overall combined men's and women's record coming in. On the women's side, he has a current record of 58-88 at UMKC, while boasting a 79-68 mark with the men.
Hale has orchestrated an amazing turnaround with the men's and women's tennis programs since joining the department in 2008. He has guided both the men's and women's squads to numerous school-record win totals and has produced four Summit League regular season titles, four Summit League Tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances. He was selected as the 2010 USTPA National Coach of the Year for his turnaround effort, as well as 2009 and 2013 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year, the 2011 Summit League Men's Coach of the Year, and 2013 Summit League Women's Coach of the Year.
In six seasons at the helm, Hale has coached 23 all-league honorees on the men's side and 12 all-league selections on the women's side. He's coached three Summit League Players of the Year and three Summit League Newcomers of the Year.
Hale has also coached the five winningest players in school history on the women's side, and four of the five top career win leaders on the men's side.
Players Mentioned
